No Kings Turns From Protest to the Polls With More Than 3,000 Vote Early Events

WASHINGTON. The No Kings coalition, which has filled streets on three nationwide protest days since President Donald Trump returned to office, is trying a different tactic on Saturday: voting.

Grassroots groups across the country are holding more than 3,000 "No Kings: Vote Early" marches and other events on Saturday, October 17, NPR reported. Organizers describe the day as a nonpartisan push to lift turnout in the midterm elections. Volunteers will help people check their voter registration, make a plan to cast a ballot, and understand their voting rights. Fast Company counted more than 2,500 events on the map earlier in the week. Organizers told USA Today the number has since risen past 3,000, with events in all 50 states.

"Done sending a message"

The coalition brings together hundreds of partner organizations, among them the American Civil Liberties Union, Black Voters Matter, Indivisible, MoveOn, the League of Women Voters, the American Federation of Teachers, 50501, Public Citizen, State Voices and Voto Latino.

"The first three No Kings were designed to send a message," Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, told NPR. "We're done sending a message." Now, he said, they want people to vote.

Organizers say the earlier protest days drew millions: more than five million at 2,100 events in June 2025, seven million at 2,700 events that October, and an estimated nine million on March 28. The coalition says Trump acts in office more like a monarch than an elected president. Trump has rejected that idea and has brushed off the protests as "a joke."

Two goals for the day

Levin told NPR the day has two main goals. The first is to help produce the largest midterm early voting turnout in the country's history. The second is to recruit and train volunteers as poll watchers.

That second goal, Levin said, answers steps by the Trump administration that he sees as threats to election integrity: the failed SAVE America Act, which would have required proof of United States citizenship, such as a passport or a birth certificate, when registering; concerns that federal immigration officers could be sent to the polls; and the president's attempted restrictions on voting by mail.

"Early and record turnout is our best chance to ensure every vote is counted and election results are too big to rig," Joel Payne, chief communications officer for MoveOn Civic Action, told Fast Company.

Block parties, dogs and superhero capes

Saturday's events vary widely, from rallies and marches to block parties and cookouts. In Golden, Colorado, a "Paws to the Polls" event invites people to march with their dogs. Organizers in Everett, Washington, planned a "concert for democracy." In Frisco, Texas, Cammy Dunford, a co-leader of Indivisible Frisco, planned a "voting is your superpower" gathering with superhero capes and masks. Her group made 500 goodie bags with QR codes linking to voting information, though early voting in Texas starts only on October 19.

"I don't care if you're an independent, first-time voter, Democrat, Republican," Dunford told NPR. "If you are eligible to vote, you need to get out there and vote. Because without everybody voting, we don't have a democracy."

All events share some rules, Levin said, including a bar on political endorsements and on inviting current candidates to speak. In Wyandotte, Michigan, Christy McGillivray of the nonpartisan group Voters Not Politicians is set to speak on the history of fighting for democracy in the United States. "It makes people feel like they're a part of something bigger than themselves," she told NPR. "And that's what democracy is."

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.