To William Tucker, a dancer who also works part-time in a pizzeria on the outskirts of Allentown, Pennsylvania, 2016 marks the first time that he is eligible to vote. But he is so disappointed that he will not go out to cast the ballot.
"I don't think either candidate has our best interest in heart. Voting for anyone is not going to change anything," said the African-American man who has registered as a Democrat.
"Actually I am an independent. I don't believe in the two-party system. I believe the two-party system is apparently separating us unnecessarily," he said. He did not plan to vote for any third-party candidate either, "because I don't feel that's going to make a difference."
"The voting system is so corrupt. Something is definitely wrong with the system. The country is controlled by the wealthy. We don't have much a say in the system," he said.
Mathewson, the senior portfolio manager in Bethlehem, also blamed the system for the problems facing the country.
"It's because of the system. The good candidates, people who are eligible, qualified, people with integrity and character, cannot afford to run the race. They don't have billions of dollars behind them. It's all about money. It's 100 percent about money," she said.
"As long as you have people buying their way into the White House, I don't see it's making much a progress as a country," he said. "This is a game of money, power, and influence. That makes me sad."