The US election is fast approaching and residents of this battleground state appear disillusioned with both parties and with democracy itself

In the housing projects of Pittsburgh’s Northview Heights neighbourhood, vocal enthusiasm for this presidential election can be hard to come by.

I am out with two women, Leslie Hughes and Luwaunna Adams, whom I met two years ago when we were making a video in western Pennsylvania – a perennial battleground region in the US’s closest-fought swing state. The pair are members of the service workers’ union, which represents lower-income cleaners and security personnel. They are also two of the most effective and persuasive canvassers I have encountered.