Credit: Joséphine Gorel
How do New Yorkers expect the midterm elections to go? Amid international tensions and inflation, five New Yorkers expressed growing concerns about the electoral system and whether their voices will be heard. These New Yorkers, interviewed on Sept. 14, offered a range of perspectives on the upcoming election.
Deborah Navins, a 67 year-old freelance events manager, had just finished her workout in St. Nicholas Park. She said she feared the election results might not be respected by the administration if the results did not go its way. “I am deeply concerned about the redrawing of the district and what they want to do with the mail-in ballots,” she said. “I will watch these topics closely.”
Mandel Smith, 56, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker who spoke at the entrance of the 137th Street subway station, shared similar concerns. He said people feared their votes could be taken away, but he was still hoping for a “fair” election. Justin Davis, a 65-year-old handyman eating lunch on a bench at Broadway and 138th Street, echoed these concerns about mail-in ballots. “They can say, ‘oh, he didn’t vote, she didn’t vote.’ I prefer going in person,” he said, referring to fraud allegations made by President Donald Trump about mail-in voting.
Trump came up in almost every conversation and policies also came up repeatedly. Robert Perez, 57, immediately brought up the conflict in Iran and its consequences, including rising gasoline prices. He also questioned whether the money currently being spent on foreign wars would be better spent in the United States. “America First,” he said repeatedly.
Do New Yorkers reflect the overall mood of the country? David Steinfels, a 34-year-old law student walking his dog, said many are in denial, and have been since 2016.When I talked about [Donald Trump’s] likely win to my New Yorker friends in 2016, they didn’t believe me,” he said, adding that his friends waved him off as a “crazy person.” He added, “I think it hasn’t changed much. The midterms are going to turn red a lot more than they expect.”
Polls currently give Democrats a modest advantage in the upcoming election, which will take place on Nov. 3, with early voting in New York City beginning Oct. 24.
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About the author(s)
Joséphine Gorel is a French writer and audio reporter pursuing an M.S. in Journalism at Columbia, with experience in communications at several nonprofit newsrooms and an interest in investigative reporting.