No Kings coalition plans nationwide early voting events

Updated Oct. 15, 2026, 9:09 a.m. ET

Millions of Americans are expected to gather across the country and vote early Oct. 17 in the newest iteration of the popular No Kings protests. In some cases, they will march to polling locations.

Each of the more than 3,000 actions will focus on early voting and turnout rather than protesting, Indivisible cofounder Ezra Levin told USA TODAY.

The first three No Kings protests were meant to “send a message that, in effect, democracy would reassert itself because the people would insist that it reassert itself,” said Levin, whose liberal advocacy group formed in 2016.

“We set No Kings for October because we believed Trump when he signaled again and again and again that he intended to sabotage the election,” Levin said. “How do you prevent the sabotage of an election using the tools available to you? Well, you vote like hell.”

No Kings organizers said the goal is to create voter turnout so historically high that it would be hard for the Trump administration to claim there was fraud.

The White House dismissed the organizers.

“The fact that the ‘No Kings’ organizers are talking about voting in the upcoming election proves they should change their name. This November, Americans have a clear choice between President Trump and Republicans’ commonsense policies or the extreme Democrats’ radical socialist, open-border policies,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said.

The previous actions rank among the largest protests in American history. They have consistently been nonviolent, and organizers stress that is still a priority.

The name No Kings comes from the organizers’ belief that Trump is acting like a monarch rather than the leader of a democracy. The No Kings coalition spans labor organizations, progressive activists, civil rights groups and faith leaders. Among them: American Federation of Teachers, Black Voters Matter Fund, Voto Latino, Indivisible, MoveOn and Public Citizen.

Decentralizing protest

Since Trump’s second term began, No Kings organizers have focused on having accessible protests in small and large cities, rather than holding a handful of mass protests that people have to travel far to attend.

Levin said the groups have aimed at turning out massive numbers of people to vote early since the April 2025 “Hands Off” protests, the first major demonstrations of Trump’s second term. Those grew into the No Kings coalition, which since has organized thousands of protests and brought millions of Americans into the streets to express frustration over the Trump administration’s actions.

“It’s all been driving towards ultimately an electoral showdown because that is the appropriate way to prevent an authoritarian from consolidating control,” Levin said. “It is using your democratic rights. And in a democratic republic, that means exercising the right to vote. And when your election is under threat, that means exercising your right to vote early in case there are any problems that might come up naturally or because this regime is attacking the right to vote.”

In St. Petersburg, Florida, 1,000 people plan to gather on the beach to spell out “Go Vote” with their bodies. An event in Dubuque, Iowa, will feature speakers, music, games and informational booths, before demonstrators march to a nearby polling location to vote. In Livingston, Montana, volunteers will talk about why voting matters, while others help check voter registration. In Alpine, Texas, people will march from city hall to the courthouse.

Many action locations are available online.

Why smaller groups?

Levin said it was important to build a network of grassroots organizers. Traveling to a big city for a protest is great, but it doesn’t connect people with the civic work needed in their own backyards, he said.

“They might be interested in going to an event in big cities, but that’s not where their community is and that’s not where they vote,” he said.

The local groups work on issues they care about, not what national organizers tell them to do, he said.

“You’re going to find tons of Indivisible groups all over the country, participating. But ultimately, it’s up to them whether they’re playing mahjong or doing their book club or focusing on (a) local city council race this Saturday,” he said. “I think that’s part of the magic.”

Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of Women’s March, studied building power through decentralized networks in graduate school. Local groups are easier for busy women to fit into their schedules, Carmona said.

“We’re in a PTA group and we’re in a family group chat and we’re in maybe a hobby group, maybe a run club, maybe a knitting club, whatever. And so adding another club, oftentimes for women … it’s just too much,” she said.

Instead, national organizers give people resources they need to bring activism into the groups they already play a role in, she said.

Not just protesting

In Omaha, Nebraska, groups will set up booths in Gallagher Park to pass out information about how to vote and check voter registration, Omaha MoveOn cohort organizer Kate McDonnell told USA TODAY.

“We can help people find rides. We can educate people about their options. We are not going to be telling people how to vote. That is a personal decision. It’s private,” McDonnell, 67, said.

Her group sends postcards encouraging people to vote, wave signs and attend protests, but they also collect supplies for local food banks and clothes for homeless people.