Trump’s Voting Record Returns to Spotlight as NYC Eyes November Midterms

On a gray Wednesday morning in Midtown, the talk outside the Port Authority wasn’t just about subway delays—it was about the latest jabs in the city’s political theater. With just six weeks until the November midterms, Donald Trump’s relationship with the ballot box is back in the news, rekindled by a Village Voice retrospective uncovering his spotty voting history dating back to 1987.

The story, originally reported by the Voice nearly four decades ago, found that Trump, then a rising real estate developer with a penchant for headlines, was frequently absent from the voting booths. That detail, once a footnote in the city’s rollicking political scene, now lands differently as Trump, despite no longer holding office, remains a central figure in New York’s—and the nation’s—political discourse.

This week, Trump’s critiques of Democrats, the press, and even his own party have surged, especially after a statement last month to Punchbowl News in which he questioned whether his supporters would show up if he’s not on the ballot. The remarks rippled through local political circles, with some longtime Manhattan Republicans, like Upper East Side district leader Grace Yu, saying, “It’s hard to energize the base when the figurehead’s commitment to voting is up for debate.”

City election officials are bracing for a polarized turnout, with absentee voting applications already up 14% compared to last September. Outside the Board of Elections’ office on Adams Street, Brooklynite and first-time voter James Ortiz said, “After everything we’ve seen, showing up to vote feels like the most New York thing you can do right now.”

As campaign signs sprout across the boroughs and debates spill onto cafe stoops, the city’s voters are reminded that showing up—rain, shine, or scandal—remains a cardinal rule of civic life in New York.