Despite her reservations about Obama, Romney didn't seem to be looking out for her best interests, she says.

Read Reeves' story: Can this Latino voter find a home?

Watching the debates sealed the deal.

She listened to what Obama and Romney said and also paid close attention to how they said it.

A decade ago, Reeves' eardrums burst, leaving her legally deaf. At first, she relied on reading lips to understand what people said. Now, a cochlear implant helps her hear, but she still pays close attention to body language.

"Eyes and facial expressions tell a lot," she says. "You can tell when someone's acting."

To Reeves, Obama seemed sincere.

"I looked at Mitt and it's like he was a statue up there, a puppet going through a speech that was made for him," she says. "He just didn't seem real to me, he really didn't."

Last week, on the way home from a doctor's appointment, Reeves stopped by a library in Celebration, Florida, to cast her ballot during early voting.

She no longer had any doubts about which candidate she supported, or which candidate would support her.

"It's too scary," she says, "too risky, letting someone like Romney take over."

Reeves says she voted for Obama.

The Single Woman: Staying true to her word

Unmarried women make up one of America's fastest-growing demographics. They account for a quarter of the voting population, and a disproportionate number of them live in Alexandria, Virginia -- a city in one of the highly coveted swing states.

For all these reasons, Alexandria's unmarried and undecided Laura Palmer, 36, became a clamored-for commodity this election season.

But the former lawyer, who served in 2008 as a political appointee to the Bush administration, has made it her mission to rise above conflict, focus on positivity and be true to herself. Now a licensed hypnotherapist and practitioner of energy medicine, she believes it's time for the country's leaders to do the same.

She stayed mum about whom she voted for in 2008 and vowed she wouldn't divulge her decision this year. She's staying true to her word; not even her closest friends will know who's earned her ballot.

"I don't think it matters," says Palmer, who made her choice after the debates. "I don't mean that my vote doesn't matter. Every vote counts."

But in her view, there's nothing that can be accomplished in discussing such a personal choice. While the passions of a heated political season may have driven people apart, she'd rather focus on the future and what might be possible -- not just for the president, no matter who wins, but for those taking office in Congress.

"I hope whoever stays in power or moves into power, however it plays out, I hope there will be tremendous effort to reach across the aisle," she said. "I hope they make an effort to work together. It's the only way our country can move forward in a meaningful way."

The Evangelical: Finding his decision in the Bible

Rob Seyler, a Bible school teacher who typically votes Republican, was wary of backing a Mormon for president.

Seyler had thought about staying home on Election Day but says studying the Bible suggested that was a bad idea.

"God would not support his people taking a passive role in a nation's government," he said by e-mail from just outside Des Moines, Iowa. "In fact, Hosea 8:4 shows that God was at times displeased with Israel's choices for leadership -- which shows me that he holds his people responsible for electing proper leaders."

Seyler is still wary of giving a Mormon such a prominent perch. But he thinks Romney, a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will "move our country in a direction that God would favor."