‘No Kings’ returns to the streets: the outcry against Trump shakes the country and calls for a vote

The ‘No Kings’ protest movement has coordinated a new national day of action in the United States, with nearly 3,000 rallies and marches in key cities such as Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Atlanta. Unlike previous calls focused solely on denouncing government policies, this edition—dubbed ‘No Kings: Vote Early’—has focused entirely on active electoral mobilization and voting early.

Key points of the day of mobilization

• Focus on the legislative (midterm) elections. With the November 3rd elections approaching to define control of Congress, the coalition seeks to channel discontent into ballots at the polls.
• Push for early and mail-in voting. The central strategy is to incentivize early suffrage to secure participation and counter rhetoric and measures that question mail-in voting and electoral legitimacy.
• Diverse civil coalition. The day was promoted by civil rights and voting advocacy organizations such as the ACLU, Voto Latino, Indivisible, MoveOn, Public Citizen, and the Black Voters Matter Fund.
• Central demands. Participants raised slogans against immigration raids, the rising cost of living, foreign military interventions, and what they describe as authoritarian drifts of the executive branch.
• The movement attempts to gather these concerns under a single slogan: no ruler is above the citizenry.