The No Kings movement, which has put millions of people in the streets against President Trump this year, is trying something different today. Instead of one more giant march, organizers have planned more than 2,500 events in all 50 states on Saturday, Oct. 17, built around one goal: getting people to vote early in the Nov. 3 midterms, Fast Company reported.
Some events are still rallies and marches, in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington and San Francisco. But a lot of them are block parties, cookouts, group walks to early-voting sites and sessions where people make a plan to vote.
What is No Kings: Vote Early?
It’s the fourth national No Kings day, run by a coalition that includes Indivisible, MoveOn, the ACLU, the American Federation of Teachers, the League of Women Voters, Black Voters Matter Fund, Voto Latino, Public Citizen and 50501. The last one, on March 28, drew what organizers estimated at 8 million to 9 million people. That figure comes from organizers and hasn’t been independently confirmed.
“Early and record turnout is our best chance to ensure every vote is counted and election results are too big to rig,” said Joel Payne of MoveOn Civic Action. “No one gets to scare us out of our vote, and on October 17th, we’re showing up, fiercely and fearlessly,” said Beatriz Lopez of Voto Latino. The ACLU says it has mapped out “dozens of scenarios for election interference” and is ready to go to court.
Are the No Kings events partisan?
Organizers say no. In Southern California, the events are billed as a “nonpartisan voter-participation initiative” that “strictly prohibit[s] candidate endorsements, campaign activity, or party affiliation,” FOX 11 reported. That’s partly about the law. Many of the groups involved are nonprofits that can’t campaign for candidates.
But nobody’s pretending the crowd is neutral. No Kings started as a protest against Trump, and the coalition is full of progressive groups. A turnout push from this movement is, in practice, a push for voters who mostly lean against the president’s party.
How do I find an event or vote early?
Organizers list events on the No Kings website, and local outlets including FOX 9 in Minnesota have posted lists by city. Early voting rules vary a lot by state. Some states have weeks of in-person early voting, and a few have very little. Check your state or county election office’s website for dates, locations and what ID you need. Don’t rely on a rally flyer.
The BeezLoop Take
This is a smart turn for No Kings. Marches show anger. Votes change who’s in charge. Pointing millions of motivated people at early-voting sites is a lot more likely to matter on Nov. 3 than another big crowd shot.
The nonpartisan label is a stretch, though, and organizers should own that. You can run a legal, nonpartisan voter drive and still be honest that your coalition opposes the president. Voters can handle it.
The open question: will today’s events show up in early-vote numbers, or will turnout look the same as it would have anyway?
Also on BeezLoop: counties have closed 1,688 polling places since the Supreme Court stopped checking, and only 27% of Latino voters approve of Trump in a new poll.
Sources: Fast Company, via Yahoo News · FOX 11 Los Angeles · FOX 9 Minneapolis · MS NOW (video)
