“In Pakistan if you go to the hospital, bleeding, the first thing they ask you is how much money you have in your pocket.”

Kahn is voting for Hillary because she “says everything in front of everybody,” whereas Mr. Trump is unfair to immigrants. A “heart patient”, he’s grateful for affordable healthcare and Medicaid.

“If you stay here five years and are honest and good, you can get citizenship. Very good. This is freedom, this is a free country.”

Kahn emigrated from Lahore in 2003 on a chef’s visa and became a US citizen in 2009. He’s only been back to visit Pakistan once, calling it a “bad situation” — over 50,000 people have died from terrorism in the last decade. He does not plan to visit again. He’s been working this lot for eight years and is currently putting his oldest of five children through college. 

“I was for Hillary the first time she ran against Barack… I think she’s qualified, first and foremost, and I want to see how a woman would run the country.”

The sign outside the Healthy Dollar in Downtown Flint, Michigan says, “Holla!” Inside, an array of brightly-colored snacks line the shelves, and a friendly woman called Kathy sits behind the counter. A tall man in a baby blue velour jumpsuit leaves his seat and walks outside.

“Koreans are hilarious,” she says with a laugh, clapping her hands. A retired reporter for the automotive industry, she’s well-traveled woman and reminisces about Seoul, London, Japan. “I think Barcelona was my favorite. I lived a short walk from the beach, the Mediterranean.”

Having graduated high school in 1968, she talks about how involved young people were, politically, back in her day. The conversation glides from Mrs. Clinton’s qualifications to the global perception of the US, to the opportunities found in Flint for young people looking to start their own thing. “Life is interesting,” she says, “and for the most part, I still like people.” The door opens. The man in velour returns to continue his visit with Kathy.

The Monument Square Barber Shop has been in continual operations since 1886, when the building was erected. A lone, unoccupied chair sits in front of the mirror between refurbished wooden floors and a golden pressed-metal ceiling. From a small radio speaker, Sean Hannity’s voice fills the room. A pair of feet in beige cotton socks peak out from behind a curtain, resting on a chair.

A Specialist E-4 who saw action during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, Gerry took over the business twenty years ago, when the previous barber retired. “I’m a conservative,” he starts, with a soft and gentle voice.

“It’s going to take a business person like Donald Trump to do it. Somebody who cares about the people and who’s not going to go in there and be self-serving.”

Mozart, his only family, lounges in his lap.

“College should be affordable, so people can get out of places like here.”

Rylee says she was big a fan of Bernie Sanders. “He was so cute too,” she adds with a laugh. “I knew the free college wasn’t going to work out, but that was cool. I feel bad for the people who can’t afford college. Everyone deserves an opportunity to start their career, and college is a big part of that.” For herself, she’d like to become a medical technician or a teacher — she likes kids.

Rylee has decided not to vote. “They both suck. I don’t like Trump because he’s racist, and Hillary erased those emails.”

Her stepfamily is Black, and she says her parents are voting for Hillary because they’re horrified by blatant racism. When discussing racism in the area, she says Fostoria isn’t so bad, but her high school (one town over) was “super racist. A lot of the kids used the hard R.” You can probably guess what racial epithet she meant.

“I just want to go somewhere really far. I was thinking Florida.” Rylee works at Family Video, hoping to save up enough money to leave. She says the store gets busy at night, which she’s thankful for, because the odd clown trend in the area terrifies her. “They’re like everywhere right now… I’m worried they might come in here.”

“I don’t trust either one of them, a politician’s a politician…I don’t understand why anybody would want to be president…”

William leans out the window and speaks candidly and with a sense of remorse about where we’ve been and where we’re heading. He doesn’t want to think about whom he’s voting for until Election Day.

Willie’s Weenie Wagon is parked in an alley behind a Democratic campaign office. Earlier, there was an event with Senator Russ Feingold, but nobody mentioned it to William. Had he known, he would have liked to attend, he laughs. Originally from Chicago, he volunteered for the Navy and fought in the Vietnam War as a Boatswain’s Mate. He’s sincere, easy to laugh, and quick to joke. Two women at one of the picnic tables nearby confirm that William has the best Chicago dog around.

"I went to Wal-Mart to get a pair of glasses fixed and grabbed the first attendant I saw. Her and I have been married for 27 years." His wife still works at Wal-Mart.

Write-up forthcoming. Mackenzie is a recovering victim of the Midwestern heroin epidemic and mother of two.

“I drank the water before we found out it was fucked up,” John says. “We got a letter that said it may look and smell weird, but it’s safe to drink.”

The tiny waiting area in the front room of Consolidated Tattoo is packed – with about five people. John sits in his chair, steadily working on a client’s left arm. The owner of that arm chimes in on the conversation occasionally, as does John’s co-owner, prepping a second chair in back.

In his late 20s, John’s never voted and doesn’t think his parents have, either. But, his girlfriend was (and is) a big Bernie supporter.

He’s not following the election but says Trump was in town last week, at a local Black church. “He started getting political and got shut down” by the female minister, he laughs.

The conversation turns back to Flint’s poisoned water. “It looked fine,” John’s partner says. “But it smelled like dirt, like this strong soil smell.”

“Nobody’s ever given us water, anything. Had to go out and buy our own filters,” John laughs, shaking his head in disbelief.

“So many kind people here, but every now and then you get a sour apple.”

Madsen’s Donuts looks and feels like everything you’d want from a donut shop — cozy, warm, and an aroma that screams Baker’s Dozen. Behind the counter, at the far end of the kitchen, Bailey decorates freshly-glazed donuts with colorful sprinkles. It’s her second season working at Madsen’s. Although the village of Geneva-on-the-lake is a largely seasonal community, she says job opportunities are great here for kids.

Bailey does her best to keep up with politics, but it’s tough to find time between school, her job, and soccer.“It’s interesting to watch, but it gets annoying after a while.”

Her parents are both Democrats, but she doesn’t think too highly of Hillary Clinton — Benghazi and the email scandal turned her away. “I don’t understand how she can get away with giving up government information. If we did that, we would go to prison.”

She’s close with her family, who own a local tree-service business, and although she hasn’t traveled much yet, she hopes to settle near home after attending Kent State University next year.

Bailey celebrated her 18th birthday the day before and plans to vote for Donald Trump.

“Democrats, for the last 50 years, have been voting the same people in, and Black neighborhoods have stayed the same. Donald Trump is going to change that.”

“Still a lot of crime on the south side,” Clint says, “but the downtown is better now than it was ten years ago.”Clint’s Hotdog Cart – a mobile “No-Hassle Casual Catering” business – is parked across the street from the Capitol building in Lansing, Michigan.

Also the Deacon at Mount Zion All Nations Bible Church, Clint says he plans to “pray a lot” if Hillary Clinton wins. He’s dismayed by how President Obama has “bowed down in the Middle East” and raises concerns about illegal immigration and the unfortunate status quo running the country. “If Hillary wins, it’s going to be the same old stuff.”

Trump “doesn’t seem like a racist to me, a little radical, but why don’t we give him a chance? I know he’s not going to be our savior, because we only got one savior.”

“Trump makes me want to take a shower every time he talks.”

Justin smokes a cigarette in the rocking chair outside of Woods’ Antiques ‘n More, where he’s been working as an antiques dealer since his manufacturing plant shut down and moved to Florida for cheaper labor — nine dollars an hour. “That’s how I lost my job.” The local economy seems pretty strong, however, all things considered. “There are a lot of factories around here and [people] are all working OT.”

Justin thinks President Obama “did alright. I think he gets a whole lot of grief just because he’s black.” A past supporter of Ross Perot and Ron Paul, he really liked Bernie in the primaries, “He seemed to me like the most intelligent and nobody had any dirt on him.”

If he were voting, Justin says he’d vote Hillary, despite a strong skepticism of her “trust issues.” But, he plans not to vote. “I don’t see why we have political parties altogether. It’s silly.”

Justin takes out his phone and chuckles at a video called “Trump vs. Trump”.

“I’ve never seen anybody like him. His ability to put everybody down, the soldiers, everybody… how can he get away with it?”

Tiofilo sits at a table at Pablo’s Panaderia in Old Town, drinking coffee and waiting on breakfast with a friend.

“What’s really going to happen if he wins? He’s saying he wants to send everybody back. Make America great again? What he really means is Make America white again.”

Although born in Texas, Tiofilo has lived in the Lansing area since 1970, and, despite his age – nearly 70 – he just finished working 169 hours in 10 straight days. “Paint, wax floors, build, scrapping” — he does it all.

Breakfast arrives, but Tiofilo is on a roll. He moves quickly from congress’ reluctance to work with president Obama to being abandoned by his father at age 9 and the seasonal work of his younger years, which took him to nearly all 50 states.

“Always voting democratic,” he says. He voted for Obama twice and supports Hillary Clinton in 2016.

“It would be nice to see our impoverished youth not gunned down for no reason... Respect for cops and respect for Black Lives Matter, these things are not mutually exclusive. Just treat each other with respect.”

A fan of Mitt Romney in 2012, Max plans to vote for Hillary Clinton.

A dimly lit billiards joint with a few daytime drinkers sprinkled about the bar. Easy to smile and quick to converse, Max serves a couple of pints and chats about the things that matter to him right now.

Black Lives Matter, the situation surrounding SF Giants quarterback Colin Kaepernick, “respect and dignity” for each other, and the trend of blaming the victim are subjects that come to mind when asked about the current election.

“I don’t follow it… Never voted.”

Just around the corner from Old Town in Lansing, Michigan, Jeremy works in his uncle’s auto shop, the stub of a cigarette in his hand.

Jeremy is a single father and did two tours in Iraq in 2006 and 2007, as a Corporal E-4 in the Marine Corps. When he’s not working, he spends most of his time with his twin daughters, Lacey and Lilly, who couldn’t be more different. One is obsessed with sports, the other with dressing up.

Jeremy stands for a photo. We shake hands.

Write-up forthcoming, recovering drug addict, victim of the Mid-West heroin epidemic.

“So many kind people here, but every now and then you get a sour apple.”

Madsen’s Donuts looks and feels like everything you’d want from a donut shop — cozy, warm, and an aroma that screams Baker’s Dozen. Behind the counter, at the far end of the kitchen, Bailey decorates freshly-glazed donuts with colorful sprinkles. It’s her second season working at Madsen’s. Although the village of Geneva-on-the-lake is a largely seasonal community, she says job opportunities are great here for kids.

Bailey does her best to keep up with politics, but it’s tough to find time between school, her job, and soccer.“It’s interesting to watch, but it gets annoying after a while.”

Her parents are both Democrats, but she doesn’t think too highly of Hillary Clinton — Benghazi and the email scandal turned her away. “I don’t understand how she can get away with giving up government information. If we did that, we would go to prison.”

She’s close with her family, who own a local tree-service business, and although she hasn’t traveled much yet, she hopes to settle near home after attending Kent State University next year.

Bailey celebrated her 18th birthday the day before and plans to vote for Donald Trump.

Write-up forthcoming...