How are political campaign ads influencing Michigan voters? Expert weighs in.

From candidates to outside groups, political ads are competing for voters' attention in the final days before the election.

But their impact may be less about changing minds and more about reinforcing how voters already feel.

"A very simple, direct line of communication that appeals, usually I think, to an emotive component of themselves," said Jocelyn Boryczka, professor of Political Science at the University of Detroit Mercy.

That emotional appeal worked on Destiny Madkin. The University of Michigan Dearborn graduate student says one ad targeting younger voters stuck with her.

"That really like kind of motivated me to go out and vote, and it kind of rattled me emotionally. We can get involved too; we can use our voices too," said Madkin.

But more ads don't always mean more influence.

For first-time voter and U-M Dearborn freshman Xander Thomson, the repetition is having the opposite effect.

"Every ad I've gotten, just like watching a video, it's just there's Abdul, it's Mike Rogers, it's just constantly campaign after campaign, and it just feels like it's never-ending," said Thomson.

When an ad does get your attention, Boryczka says accuracy can be more complicated than whether a claim is simply true or false. Boryczka says that a piece of information can be based on reality while still omitting important context.

"Even if it has a shred of reality, any touchstone or connection, then that can be manipulated and twisted. It can be made to feel like something much bigger than it actually is," said Boryczka.

Boryczka says voters should pause when an ad makes a claim that surprises them and check it against information from multiple sources before letting it shape their decision.