[Field Report] "We changed presidents, and everything got more expensive"... Complaints over soaring prices pour out at polling stations [U.S. Midterm Elections]

Wall Street polling place crowded with voters before noon
"Gasoline, groceries and medical bills are a burden"
Emphasizes, "The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are coming"

"The cost of living is the biggest problem. Everything from gasoline to medical bills and grocery prices is a burden."

At 11 a.m. on November 3 (local time), Victor Aviles, 55, whom I met at a polling place near Wall Street in Manhattan, New York, said economic issues were the most important reason he had voted. A freelance consultant, he criticized the president's economic policies, saying, "They have had a negative impact on the majority of Americans, who are not extremely wealthy."

As in-person voting in the U.S. midterm elections began across the country that day, voters continued to arrive at polling places in New York's Wall Street district, the world's financial center. Because the election serves as a midterm assessment of the first two years of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, voters' attention focused on the economy, the cost-of-living burden and the president's use of power.

At the polling place on New Street near Wall Street, which I visited, more people showed up than I had expected. Over the course of about 20 minutes, more than 20 voters went in and out of the polling place. Inside, there were check-in desks and voting booths separated by electoral district, and notices in English, Spanish and Chinese were posted throughout.

Citizens vote at a polling station on New Street near Wall Street in New York on the 3rd (local time). New York, U.S. = Hwang Yoonju)

Voters I met at the Wall Street polling place that day commonly pointed to high prices as a problem. Aviles said, "Rising fuel costs also affect grocery prices and transportation costs," adding, "They're also a huge burden for people who heat their homes with oil."

When I asked whether he viewed the election as a midterm assessment of Trump's first two years in office, he replied, "Absolutely."

Educator Praelo Zandonadi, 37, whom I met at the same polling place, also said the Trump administration's economic policies had worked against the middle class. "Everything has become more expensive under President Trump's economic policies," he said. "Wealthy people are benefiting from tax cuts and making more money, while the wages of people earning $50,000 to $150,000 a year have stagnated."

A ballot marking device at the New Street polling site near Wall Street in New York. New York (U.S.) = Correspondent Hwang Yunju.

However, Zandonadi drew a distinction between the election and a simple midterm assessment of President Trump. He said local policy issues matter more than passing judgment on the president in New York, a Democratic stronghold.

"New York is strongly progressive, so the political landscape doesn't change much," he said. "This time, policy issues such as reducing bureaucracy and speeding up urban development are more important." He added, "In other parts of the country, though, this election will clearly be a midterm assessment of the Trump administration." 

Asked what message he hoped the election would send to Washington, D.C., Zandonadi expressed distrust, saying, "We don't like the direction the United States is headed in right now," and, "I question whether Washington, D.C., is actually listening to the people."

"Trump's power must be checked... The DSAs are coming"

Around 1 p.m., I headed to Midtown and visited the polling place at the Ford Foundation. Unlike the area near Wall Street, the voters there were mostly older people and young adults. Some said President Trump's power needed to be checked.

When I asked John Abrams, 74, a retiree I met there, the most important reason he had voted, he replied without hesitation, "To check President Trump's power." He stressed, "President Trump has far too much power right now," adding, "I hope Congress will once again exercise the responsibilities and authority assigned to it by the Constitution."

Asked what he considered the biggest problem with Trump's policies, Abrams listed immigration, the war with Iran and high prices.

"The war with Iran and the cost of living are serious problems," he said. "Prices have soared for everything, to the point that even basic necessities like fruit and bread at the grocery store cost an outrageous amount."

He continued, "President Trump talked about his tariff policy as if the public would benefit, but the only ones who actually got money back were companies."

Asked whether he considered the midterm elections a referendum on President Trump, Abrams said, "Absolutely." He added, "The House will return to Democratic control, and President Trump will eventually be impeached and held accountable for the crimes he has committed."

In particular, he emphasized that the message the election would send to Washington, D.C., was that "the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are coming."

"People shouldn't have to go into massive debt to get health care and an education," Abrams said. "No matter how threatening the political rhetoric gets, it won't be able to suppress these demands."

Meanwhile, in-person voting in the midterm elections began first in Vermont at 5 a.m. Eastern Time that day and will end first in parts of Indiana and Kentucky at 6 p.m. Vote counting will then proceed according to each state's poll-closing time. The outcomes in key battlegrounds are expected to begin emerging that night, but final results in close races could take considerable time.

The biggest question in this midterm election is whether the balance of power in the Republican-controlled U.S. House and Senate will change. Democrats are widely expected to retake the House majority. If they do, congressional oversight of the Trump administration's policy agenda could intensify. The Senate race is reportedly still close on Election Day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.