No Kings Protests Return Nationwide for a Fourth Round Focused on Early Voting
More than 3,000 No Kings events were held across the country Saturday as organizers shifted the movement's focus from marching to voting, three weeks before the Nov. 3 midterms.
The “No Kings” protest movement returned to streets across America on Saturday, Oct. 17, this time with ballots as the message. Organizers listed more than 3,000 actions nationwide, from a march to an election office in Phoenix to a tailgate at a ballot drop box in Chester, Pennsylvania, as the movement made a turn from protest to turnout three weeks before the Nov. 3 midterms.
It was the fourth round of demonstrations aimed at the policies of President Donald Trump. The last round drew 8 million participants nationally, according to reporting by The Palm Beach Post, which described this Saturday’s events as the fourth “No Kings” day. Organizers told USA TODAY they expected smaller crowds this time, and said the real measure will come when states release early-voting numbers. The name comes from organizers’ belief that Trump is acting like a monarch rather than a democratic leader, the Post reported.
A push for turnout
Organizers say the goal is early-voting participation high enough to be unmistakable. They want turnout so large that, as USA TODAY put it, it would be hard for the Trump administration to claim there was fraud. The White House dismissed the organizers earlier this week, telling USA TODAY that the fact the organizers are talking about voting shows “there is no king and no authoritarian government.”
The coalition behind the day includes the American Federation of Teachers, the Black Voters Matter Fund, Voto Latino, Indivisible, MoveOn and Public Citizen, The Palm Beach Post reported. Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert said the events are a way to channel frustration with the administration’s policies into voting, calling the ballot “the most tangible aspect of their power.” She added that organizers want people to vote, and to vote early, in numbers that send a message about how the country is governed.
Scenes from the day
In Phoenix, protesters marched to the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center to drop off their ballots. In Indianapolis, marchers headed to the governor’s residence. In Tallahassee, a group calling itself the Eyeball Brigade wore papier-mache eyeballs on their heads, with the message “Eyes Are Watching.” “We want people to keep an eye on democracy,” organizer Doug Schrock said. “Keep an eye on voting rights; keep an eye on ICE.”
In Salem, Oregon, about 1,200 protesters marched through downtown. “Highly visible, with the message being: Vote. And it’s important to vote in this election,” said Thom Gapen, spokesman for Salem Region Indivisible. In Sarasota, Florida, a few hundred people waved signs and American flags and rang cowbells outside the Supervisor of Elections office. “Voting is nonpartisan, we’re advocating for everyone to be able to vote in a free, fair and safe election,” said Sarah Parker, executive director of Voices for Florida Fund.
In Palm Beach County, the president’s adopted home turf, five demonstrations were scheduled. In West Palm Beach, police asked indie-pop singer Earth to Eve not to use a microphone while performing her single “No Kings” for the crowd; she sang without it. Trump left town the same morning, flying from the recently renamed Trump International Airport to a Republican rally in Northern Kentucky and departing on Air Force One at 11:17 a.m., the Post reported.
The events did not win everyone over. House Speaker Mike Johnson has referred to the protests as the “Hate America Rally,” and Republicans broadly labeled them “anti-American,” the Post reported.
Reporting based on coverage by USA TODAY and The Palm Beach Post.
