The city of Ann Arbor is as liberal as it gets. Ann Arbor hasn’t had a Republican mayor in 12 years, and the last time the city has voted for a Republican president was back in 1984. Even in the 10-person city council, a Republican hasn’t held office since 2003.

Despite Tree City’s liberal voting record, it’s difficult to put in words what drives Ann Arbor’s voting decisions. Is it the city’s liberal-minded atmosphere? Background? Education? Upbringing? But what about Ann Arbor residents who aren’t affiliated with the University? Are they driven by the same issues that University students and faculty hold dear? In an election that has been so focused on larger-than-life figures and intricate policies, these questions often go unasked. Sometimes it's easy to forget that, in the end, this election will be decided by ordinary people.

Without administering a Gallup poll, I thought the clearest barometer of the Ann Arbor psyche could be found at Fleetwood Diner. Open 24/7, Fleetwood acts as a microcosm of this city, where students, faculty and townies gather to trade stories and discuss issues. At any time of the day, you can find all walks of life eating “Hippie Hash” in Fleetwood’s tiny, greasy, sticker-filled space. I thought spending time talking to patrons at Fleetwood could give me the closest thing to a random sample poll of Ann Arbor residents.

2:25 p.m.

Tia Gough, 20, has an easy smile. Turning her head, her eyes follow an elderly man in worn-out jeans who had the telltale signs of a wedgie.

“That ain’t hot,” Gough says with a grin.

But despite Gough’s quick propensity to laugh, the Ypsilanti resident is tired.

After graduating from Pioneer High School two years ago, Gough rented out a one-bedroom apartment in Ypsilanti. To keep up with her rent, she began to work multiple jobs: one as a teacher’s assistant in second and third grade classrooms, another as a cleaning lady. But these jobs still aren’t enough to keep up with the bills — “bills on top of bills on top of bills,” as she puts it.

Gough is constantly looking for work. She repeatedly checks her phone throughout our conversation, expecting a call from a potential client.

And on top of her financial pressures, Gough is working toward a degree at Washtenaw Community College. Though she doesn’t have a major yet, Gough is determined to get her degree so she can get out of Michigan.

“Of course, I want to go to California,” she says. She has her sights set on a fashion school in Los Angeles.

Gough cites financial and time constraints as the main reason why she isn’t voting in this election. She says she has shied away from keeping up with the election issues because she has so many stressors in her personal life already. And because she hasn’t had the time to develop an informed opinion, Gough says she’d rather not vote.

“I’ve got no time; I don’t got the time,” she stresses, repeatedly.

When pressed, Gough says if she were participating on Nov. 6, she’d vote for President Barack Obama. But even this hypothetical situation seems to bring her discomfort. The thought of her candidate losing, she says, makes her feel like her vote wouldn’t count. She cites this nervousness as another reason why she isn’t going to vote.

Her companions at Fleetwood, Darien Scott and Anthony Ellis, also say they don’t plan on voting.

Ellis, a recent Pioneer High School graduate, has a legitimate excuse — he’s only 17.

And Scott, Gough’s close friend from high school, says he would vote if he had registered on time. But the 19-year-old says he has difficulties keeping up with the issues and isn’t sure who he’d support.

7:30 p.m.

It takes only a few minutes of conversation with University Law students Will Roth and Hugh Manahan to tell that the two are highly educated. They both give intricate details of why they are supporting Obama: the Dodd-Frank Act, healthcare vouchers under a Paul Ryan-reformed-Medicare, election cycles.

“I’m voting for Obama, and it has nothing to do with this election cycle,” Roth says. “I understand his policy failures and why people may be frustrated, but I don’t think Romney offers a constructive alternative to those.”

Manahan says: “Some of the core stances of Dodd-Frank are fundamentally important, like capital requirements about how much money banks have on hand to back up investments.”

Roth, 24, is a Dartmouth grad, while Manahan, 25, graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. They both agree that their family backgrounds and their experiences at school have not defined their decisions to vote Democratic on Nov. 6.

“I don’t favor policies because they’re Democratic; I vote Democratic because I favor certain policies,” Manahan explains.

Manahan says his father is conservative and Georgetown leans right.