VANSTON, Ill. - With just under a week to go, Francis Gilbert is doubly, even triply, undecided.
The 27-year-old freelance writer said that voting for Ralph Nader's third party candidacy would be exciting. But, he added, a Gore presidency would be good for the country. Then again, a win by Bush would be better for him personally.
''Here's the deal,'' said Gilbert, who went with President Clinton the last time around. ''My pocketbook tells me to vote for Bush, but every other instinct says to go with Gore. A lot of my friends are talking about voting across-the-board Green Party just to get another party going, which is pretty cool, too.''
Illinois is suddenly another undecided state. Once tucked comfortably in the Al Gore column, it has seen a recent surge for George W. Bush, according to a new poll by the suburban Daily Herald newspaper. With a margin of error of plus or minus 3 points, the percentage of voters who claimed they hadn't yet made up their minds stood at 14 - about twice the comparable number nationwide.
In the mix of shops, restaurants, and offices along a two-block stretch of Evanston's Main Street, scores of voters insisted they remain squarely among the undecideds. This, they said, was no act designed to keep reporters at bay, pollsters guessing, or the presidential candidates on edge.
As Heidi Giammarese, a 30-year-old sales clerk at the Rock Bottom secondhand store and a registered Republican, put it: ''I'm surprised I'm still undecided. I thought something would sway me one way or another, but at this point I might not even vote because I'm really not feeling a strong pull toward anyone.''
Surprise at their own indecision, and ambivalence about the need to make a choice next Tuesday, echoed up and down Main Street in this progressive, economically and racially diverse city just north of Chicago. Still, many of the dozens of residents interviewed stressed that they want their votes to count. But count for whom? The candidate whose policies they like most, or the one whose personality they dislike least?
To be sure, most of the university students and professors, service workers, and professionals, out on a crisp fall afternoon were leaning one way or another. Some were torn between the vice president and the Texas governor. For others, it was Gore vs. the Green Party's Nader. For a few, like Gilbert, it remains a three-way tossup.
Michael, 48, an academic researcher and independent who did not want his last name used, said: ''I'm undecided because there's something about Gore I just don't like. Bush, I like his personality, I like some of his policies, I voted for his father. Then I got turned off by the ultraconservative Republican movement that blossomed in 1994. So I'm leaning toward Bush but I'm not sure.''
''Given this selection, I'm not that surprised I'm undecided,'' said Jennifer, a 36-year-old psychology researcher who early on narrowed her choices to Gore or Nader. ''I'm definitely leaning against Bush. I really can't stand Gore, but I agree with him on the issues. I think going with Nader would be my protest vote against the whole two-party system.''
Sipping a latte at the laid-back, family-owned Cafe Express, Jennifer said a number of her friends and even her parents have not made their final selection. In recent weeks, such indecision has made them the focus of advertising blitzes and political pitches.
Many of the people who live or work or were just shopping on Main Street attributed their electoral quandary to blurred distinctions between the major-party candidates. But almost an equal number blamed themselves. They said they had been too busy studying or programming computers to sort through political platforms or position papers.
''Why am I undecided?'' said Jacey Friedrich, 26, a real estate advertising manager who has never voted Republican. ''I just haven't looked into it yet. I probably should be more interested, but I avoided even watching the debates. I hate all the slanderous accusations. You never know who's telling the truth.''
Added Rachel Cull, 27, a former teacher in Louisiana who is working toward a master's degree in psychology and had a textbook marked in pink highlighter on the table: ''I could live under a rock right now. All I want to do is study. ... The whole thing is a mess, and I don't really care who wins.''
Cull, nonetheless, expects to be at the polling place Tuesday. She said she considers it her civic duty to cast a ballot. That gives her a week to decide between Gore and Nader. She has already ruled out Bush, saying he has done too little for public school students in Texas.
None of the residents said he or she expects a single event or candidate claim to factor into the decision in the days before the election. Instead, these voters expect to make a gut decision, maybe after some quick research into the candidates' positions on particular issues.
''I've got to go on Web sites and start reading,'' said independent Lisa Edmonds, a 29-year-old corporate attorney who was doing laundry at the Bib 'n Tucker laundromat. ''I think Bush would be good for me personally because I'll save money on taxes, but Gore would be better for the country as a whole. So it's between them.''
Daniel Weaver, a 22-year-old computer programmer who watched all three presidential debates, said he still needs to do research on the Internet.
''I know I'm getting to it a little late, but I've been distracted by work. Plus I haven't found many issues that divide them. It's like flipping a coin between Gore and Bush,'' he said.
