No Kings protests across US urge early voting before midterms

No Kings demonstrations opposing President Donald Trump’s administration took place across the United States on October 17, with participants urging early voting before the November midterm elections. Yonhap reported that the emphasis had shifted from criticism of administration policies in previous protests toward using the elections to hold the government accountable and check its exercise of power. Organisers said more than 2,500 events had been planned nationwide. [ 1 ]

Hundreds gathered outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, carrying signs encouraging early voting and defending voting rights. Other placards criticised Trump and said Americans elected a president rather than a king. Demonstrations also took place in New York, Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles. Participants said democracy was under attack, criticised administration policies and urged people to vote as soon as possible. Yonhap, citing The New York Times, reported that an Atlanta speaker urged people to vote early and contact five friends to do the same. Participants in Oklahoma City stressed that midterm voting was as important as voting in presidential elections. [ 1 , 2 ]

Yonhap said the events were organised locally in varied and autonomous forms rather than concentrating large crowds in a few places. About 200 organisations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, were involved in organising the fourth No Kings mobilisation, the agency reported. Organisers said the most recent earlier mobilisation, in March, drew more than eight million participants to about 3,300 rallies across all 50 states. Yonhap said the dispersed format of the October events made it unclear whether a total attendance estimate would be available. Dong-A Ilbo described the latest demonstrations as part of an organised effort to encourage early voting. [ 1 , 3 ]