On eve of midterms, apathy, cynicism aplenty: 'The system is rigged, we don't vote'

Rochester residents gather at the Common to relax, play with their children and enjoy a quet afternoon. (Courtesy photo) and

ROCHESTER - Rochester residents basking in the sun at the Common on a warm November Sunday just two days before the midterm elections were pretty much evenly divided - not about whom they'd be voting for - but whether they would be voting at all.
"I don't think the system works anyway," said one man. "The whole system is rigged, we don't vote." His wife nodded in agreement.
Two middle-aged women who were briskly walking the outer track said they definitely voting on Tuesday without breaking a stride.
Another man was downright derisive about the pretense of elections.
"If we vote it doesn't make a difference anyway. People aren't voted into office, they're placed into office," he quipped. "The whole system is corrupt."
A younger man out for a walk said he would be voting for sure.
"I will definitely be voting on Tuesday<" he said. "I've seen some not so good things in the past two years, so I'm going to vote and share my opinion. We'll see if it gets better."
Another man in his 60s who was reading at a park picnic table said he couldn't even remember the last time he voted.
"I don't vote," he said. "I only voted a couple of times in my life when I was younger. My dad was in the military and really believed in voting. He made me vote. I don't remember who it was I voted for. It was a long time ago."
The last guy we talked to was in his 30s and was just getting out of his car to enter the Common when we approached him. He said he'd never voted.
"I do not vote, because government is inherently immoral," he said. "I learned as a younger person they can't be trusted. I believe in the law of nature, not the law of man. The laws of nature have never hurt me. The law of man has. They steal my money every paycheck."