Many of our respondents saw avoiding politics as avoiding being taken in by a scam or a hoax. By not voting for anyone, they could stay above the fray.
Both Parties Are the Same, Neither Cares About Us
Many less-engaged respondents also expressed distrust of both major parties. 55 people (38%) told us they don’t feel like there is a meaningful difference between the two parties. They feel like neither party addresses their issues; that each is only concerned with gaining and maintaining political power, rather than executing tangible changes to people’s lives.
Sylvia, quoted above, told us “the government values people who have money. Let’s just be honest here. Unless you have money in this country, you don’t [expletive] matter.”
Kimber, a 36-year-old Black woman with an Associate’s degree, spoke with us about the levels of racial and economic inequality in the US. We asked if she thought anyone was trying to address those issues, and she told us “Politically, I feel like… no one, right? Yeah. It’s the same system. [...] In our current political playing field, that’s not there.”
This sentiment leads to broader disengagement from politics.
My Situation Hasn’t Changed
Most of our non- or seldom-voting respondents – 76% – told us they feel like there is no way voting can make a change, or that nothing that happens in politics affects their lives, or that their situations will stay the same no matter who wins or loses elections. They’ve watched politicians make promises, win elections, and then vanish, leaving behind the same struggling neighborhoods and towns, the same crises of addiction and violence, and the same financial strain. Over time, that disappointment has hardened into a belief that no one in power really cares, and nothing is going to change.
John, a 27-year-old Black UPS worker, explained why he sees a lot of people not voting:
They don’t think it’ll make a difference. […] a lot of people who grew up poor are always going to be poor, so it’s like regardless of if I vote or not, my kids might still be poor, my grandkids might still be poor, and there aren’t these resources necessarily out there for me to succeed and like who I vote for might not necessarily have my interests at heart. I feel like a lot of times like people from working class and like lower end and homeless and what not, are just like it’s not gonna do anything for me like.... [laughs] it’s not. It doesn’t make sense for me to do this. Voting in a sense feels like a privilege. And that’s pretty weird because people are like, it’s your duty to vote. But it’s like, a lot of times things don’t change even if you do vote […] It’s like when is it going to ensure that like, this guarantees my safety, or this guarantees that I’ll be able to make payments on my mortgage or whatever.
Case Study: Alex
We interviewed Alex, a 50-year-old gay Black man from Pittsburgh, in 2022. Never married and without children, Alex had worked in healthcare and security before becoming a restaurant server. While he graduated from high school, he did not attend college. Alex has never voted and doesn’t follow politics. He is deeply disillusioned with the government and the two-party system. The only president he ever somewhat supported was Obama, mainly for expanding access to affordable healthcare. Yet, this wasn’t enough to convince him to vote. For Alex, politics is just a power game, and the government doesn’t care about people like him. He states:
“It’s all games, everything out here is a game. It’s games, games, games, games [...] I don’t really see nothing working for me as a Black man [...] To me, I’m like, it’s all bull S-H-I-T. They say what they would do. I sit there and listen. [... Candidates] tell you what you want to hear. Once they get in there, they do whatever they want”
Alex described both parties as one and the same, parties by and for rich people, creating division to obtain political power.
“Republicans and Democrats, they really shake hands behind the scenes like this stuff is games. Democrats really don’t care about the poor either. They don’t really care.”
Alex has long been frustrated by low wages, lack of support, and the government’s repeated failure to deliver real economic or healthcare reform for low-income people. While Alex does not vote, he has attended protests and rallies; however, he sees these methods as also ultimately ineffective. Even when policies change, he feels they only serve to keep the working class down.
“I just marched with the SEIU and we were always fighting for $15 and I said to myself, [...] don’t you understand. [The government will] say, you know what they’ve been wanting, $15. Give ‘em $15. Once they give you $15, then they raise everything up. So you’re back at zero. They don’t wanna see you get ahead.”
Alex embodies all three findings in this section: he sees politics as a corrupt game, believes both parties are the same, and feels no real change ever comes. His own stagnant economic situation reinforces that view. Our conversation with him demonstrates how the lack of change in many people’s personal lives not only makes them feel like voting and politics are not worth their time or effort, but also builds frustration, indifference, and doubt in the entire democratic system. When participating in politics leads nowhere, politics starts to look like a joke, not a serious avenue for progress.
