As Barack Obama and John McCain race to the finish line, some local residents are hitting the streets and working the phones to campaign for the presidential candidate they support.

Jessica Forres met up with some volunteers from both campaigns in Northern Virginia.

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[NAT: knock, knock..good morning. My name is Jan Jacobs and I'm a volunteer in the neighborhood for the barack obama campaign.]

Jacobs is canvassing a neighborhood near her house in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Mary Fry is working the phones at MCCain's campaign office in Arlington.

[HELLO MY NAME IS MARY AND I'M CALLING FROM THE JOHN MCCAIN CAMPAIGN]Both volunteers are similar... They spend their free time campaiging for the presidential candidates they support. But their differences become apparent when they explain why they got involved.

Jacobs started knocking on doors in June.

WELL I'M DIONG THIS MAINLY BECAUSE I HAVE FOUR CHILDREN. MY SON WAS IN IRAQ THREE DIFFERENT TIMES AND I'M READY TO SEE AN END TO THIS WAR.

And Fry says she's made at least a thousand phone calls since March.

I CAME ORIGINALLY IN MARCH BECAUSE I FELT VERY STRONGLY ABOUT JOHN MCCAIN. I'M VERY MUCH A PRO-LIFE PERSON. AND HIS PRO-LIFE STAND WAS VERY CLEAR AND I WAS VERY CLEAR ABOUT MINE.

Jacobs and Fry say they will campaign up until election day on November fourth.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News

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As Election Day approaches, Jessica Forres reports that both presidential campaigns are seeing more people in Virginia stepping up to volunteer.

Boomp3.com'>LISTEN TO THE STORY THAT AIRED ON WAMU RADIO

[HELLO MY NAME IS MARY AND I'M CALLING FROM THE JOHN MCCAIN CAMPAIGN]

Mary Fry is making phone calls at McCain's campaign office in Arlington. She's been helping out since March.

WELL THERE WAS A PHONE FOR EVERY PERSON BUT THERE WERE ONLY THREE PHONES WHEN I FIRST STARTED AND SO EACH TIME I CAME THERE WERE MORE TABLES AND MORE PHONES.

Now…there are more than 50 volunteers making phone calls in the same room as Fry.

Jan Jacobs is also volunteer, but for Barack Obama's campaign. She is canvassing a neighborhood in Woodbridge.

[NAT: KNOCK, KNOCK]
I'M LOOKING FOR JESSE IS THAT YOU
-SPEAKING

She says there are more volunteers now compared to when she first started knocking on doors.

WE HAVE A LOT MORE CANVASSERS NOW THAN WE HAD IN JULY AND IN JULY I WAS DOING IT ALL BY MYSELF. I WOULD GO FROM DIFFERENT PLACES ALONE.

In Virginia, there are more than 14-thousand volunteer working in each presidential campaign.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News