Here’s how the No Kings day of action urged early voting
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States Newsroom staff (via Louisiana Illuminator)
Thousands gather in downtown Minneapolis for the national No Kings rally to encourage midterm voting on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
With the general election just 16 days away and early voting underway in dozens of states, people across the nation took to the streets Saturday to urge their friends and neighbors to get out and vote.
The No Kings: Vote Early Day of Action held more than 2,500 events in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Beyond the speeches, music and marches, some No Kings participants braved cold, rainy weather or waited in long lines as they went to the polls to cast ballots. And in some communities, volunteers registered voters, wrote letters and encouraged neighbors to make a plan to vote.
It was the fourth national callout by the No Kings movement founded last year to push back against President Donald Trump’s administration. Here is a look at Saturday’s events from around the country.
Joanne Compton said that she votes because her ancestors fought for her right to do so. “I’m standing on the shoulders of my ancestors, and I’m hoping that I’m making them proud because of the sacrifices that they made just for me to be able to vote. … I can also vote for the future generation (that) is coming up,” she said in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. (Photo by Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)
Alaskans braved the rain and wind to urge early voting and participate in a No Kings day of action in Juneau on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
Hundreds marched to the Arkansas Capitol during No Kings events and a Pride celebration on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, citing healthcare and immigration as among their chief concerns. (Photo by Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate)
Speakers at the No Kings rally on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, emphasized early voting and participation in the November general election. Early voting starts in many Idaho counties on Oct. 19. (Photo by Laura Guido/Idaho Capital Sun)
No Kings campaign events held Saturday across the country included a gathering in downtown Covington, Louisiana, where participants encouraged passersby to vote in the Nov. 3 congressional midterm election. Early voting in Louisiana starts Oct. 20. (Photo by Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)
A crowd of roughly 400 gathered on the Sagadahoc Bridge in Bath, Maine. Jessica Mahnke, a spokesperson for organizers, said of this No Kings mobilization: “It’s a different event. It’s not a protest — it has a different temperament than the usual protests.” (Photo by Jim Neuger/Maine Morning Star)
Volunteers hand out flyers with voting information at the No Kings event in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Oct. 17, 2026. (Photo by Emma J Nelson/Michigan Advance)
Gary North blows a whistle, a symbol of resistance Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as hundreds gather in downtown Minneapolis for the national No Kings rally to encourage midterm voting on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
Crowds gather near the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln for a No Kings event to urge early voting in the midterms on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Photo by Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner)
Harvey Barry, 77, of Tewksbury, protests President Donald Trump’s immigration policies during the No Kings day of action in Somerville, New Jersey, on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Photo by Dana DiFilippo/New Jersey Monitor)
In the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, New York, a chapter of Indivisible, one of the grassroots organizations behind No Kings, brought together volunteers to write letters to voters in battleground states, encouraging them to get out and vote as early as possible. (Photo by Shalina Chatlani/Stateline)
Oregon Democratic state Sen. Mark Meek, who is up for reelection and dressed as a ballot box, joined demonstrators in Happy Valley on Saturday for a No Kings event to encourage early voting. “Us out here today is just representative that we care about our country, we love our country, and nobody can tell us that we’re less American than anybody else.” (Photo by Shaanth Nanguneri/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Mardys Leeper of Radnor, Pennsylvania, is one of several hundred rallygoers at a No Kings event to promote early voting on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in Media, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Peter Hall/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
Dave Wolczak, left, of Cranston, shows his sign to Terri Anderson, of Johnston, at a No Kings community event at the Hope Street Farmers Market in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Photo by Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current)
Attendees walked from a No Kings rally to Las Cruces City Hall to cast their ballots on the first day of expanded early voting on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Photo by Leah Romero/Source NM)
Joe Calhoun, left, worked as an 18-year-old in 1968 for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. At the No Kings event in Memphis, Tennessee, on Saturday, he joined state Rep. Justin J. Pearson, the Democratic nominee for the 9th Congressional District. (Photo by Cassandra Stephenson/Tennessee Lookout)
Around 2,000 people gathered at the Capitol in Salt Lake City for a rally and No Kings day of action to encourage early voting. The group marched downtown, and took ballots to drop boxes by the City Library and City Hall. (Photo by McKenzie Romero/Utah News Dispatch)
More than 1,000 people marched through downtown Madison, Wisconsin, Saturday, around the Capitol, carrying signs protesting the Trump administration and urging people to vote early in the midterms. (Photo by Ruth Conniff/Wisconsin Examiner)
Members of the Umbrella Brigade stand outside the New Haven Free Public Library in New Haven Connecticut, during a No Kings: Vote Early rally at New Haven Green on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Photo by Sarah Gordon/CT Mirror)
This story was originally produced by News From The States, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Louisiana Illuminator, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
