By Selly Thiam, Laura Shin and Jonathan Vit

Frustration with Albany and polarizing party politics drove voters to the polls in New York City Tuesday, drawing higher voter turnout than anticipated during what is typically a lackluster midterm election.

“This one is different because it matters,” said Denise Cherry, 54, of Crown Heights. “It matters because after we got the Democrats in control of the Senate, we want them to stay in and stay the course.”

The New York Times estimated voter turnout was at 46 percent this year. According to Pew Center statistics, the last midterm election, in 2006, drew 36 percent of the state’s voters to the polls. Voters credit this year’s turnout to a contentious gubernatorial race, a possible shift of power in the House and the presence of the Tea Party as motivators.

As Democrats nationwide struggled to keep control of the House of Representatives, at P.S. 6 on the Upper East Side, a district that is usually Democrat, some residents voted strictly along party lines as Republicans. Others voted solidly Democratic.

“We usually pick and choose, but we went straight Democrat this year,” said Daniel Rosen as he stood outside P.S. 6. Rosen and his wife, Charlene, said they hoped other Democrats came out to vote.

“I hope they are not too lax,” she said.

P.S. 6 saw three times as many voters turn out Tuesday, according to Michael Jones, a poll coordinator. Other districts reported similar numbers, with many poll workers citing the heated gubernatorial race as a possible cause.

“Sometimes people are tired of the same issue, like overspending. They want change. They want their voices heard,” said Denise Bourne, who has worked at the site for 12 years.

In Prospect Heights, Andrew Droege, 29, stopped outside P.S. 22 after casting his first vote in a midterm election. The power struggle in Washington over the House and Senate made this an important election, he said.

“This is particularly different because there is so much at stake,” said Droege, 29, of Crown Heights. “Mostly I was just concerned with just helping to not let the Tea Party in.”

Max Read of Prospect Heights doubts a change of leadership in the House will make much of a difference at all.

“The truth is, the Democrats had control of the Senate and the House for two years now and they’ve gotten a lot accomplished, but the gridlock has sort of set in,” said Read, 25. “I’m not sure Republicans controlling the House is really going to change all that much.”

The governor’s race also seemed to drawing more Republicans to the polls in some voting districts, according to some poll workers and voters.

“We only had 100 people during the primaries for the entire day,” said Ernest Weinberger, Republican inspector at P.S. 179 in Kensington, Brooklyn. “We already have 68, and it is 11:07 a.m.”.

Video:
Preliminary numbers place voter turnout at an estimated 46 percent this year, (exceeding officials’ expectations). NYC Metro Beat reporters traveled to polling places in Brooklyn and Manhattan and interviewed voters about what brought them to the polls.

Voter Turnout from NYC Metro Beat on Vimeo.