Carmen stepped out this morning to buy bread and found the avenue blocked: a column of people with signs was marching and chanting toward the neighborhood voting center. “What’s this?”, she asked the officer on the corner. “It’s the early voting thing”, he told her. Carmen had no idea that today, Saturday, half the country was doing the same: marching, yes, but above all voting.
What happened in the streets today
This Saturday, October 17, the “No Kings” movement returned to the streets of the United States with a national day of action called “No Kings: Vote Early”. According to the EFE news agency, more than 2,500 demonstrations and events took place today in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.: the streets of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington, Miami and Houston served as the stage to boost turnout for the November 3 midterm elections.
The format changed from previous marches: instead of one big protest, there were marches to polling places, voter fairs, block parties, cookouts and sessions to help people build their voting plan. In Brooklyn, hundreds of people walked the streets with early-voting messages; in Washington, demonstrators crossed the Arlington Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial.
What ‘No Kings: Vote Early’ is
It is the fourth national day of the “No Kings” movement, which was born as a rejection of President Donald Trump’s policies and of what its participants describe as an excessive concentration of presidential power. The previous ones were in June and October 2025 and in March 2026; that last one drew, according to the organizers themselves, between 8 and 9 million people (an organizers’ figure, with no independent verification).
What’s new today: organizers present it as a nonpartisan voter-participation day —no campaigning for candidates at official events— with a single goal: getting people to vote early and making sure every vote is counted. “Early and record turnout is our best chance to ensure every vote is counted”, said Joel Payne of MoveOn to Fast Company.
The organizing coalition includes Indivisible, MoveOn, the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), the American Federation of Teachers, Black Voters Matter Fund, Voto Latino, Public Citizen, the League of Women Voters and the 50501 movement, among some 200 organizations.
The White House downplayed the day: spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the organizers should change their name and contrasted Trump’s “commonsense policies” with those of the Democrats.
The focus is on Hispanic voters
EFE noted that the mobilization placed special emphasis on Hispanic voters, as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. “The Latino community has felt the impact of political decisions; now, it has the opportunity to use its political power and participate in shaping the future”, the promoters said in an informational note.
It’s no coincidence: the Pew Research Center survey published this week showed that 55% of registered Latino voters see their congressional vote as a vote against Trump, and 77% say it really matters who wins control of Congress.
What it means for you
- If you are a citizen and haven’t voted yet: this day is the most visible reminder that early voting is already open in many states. There are 17 days left until November 3.
- If you were planning to register “this week”: in California and Michigan the deadline to register online or by mail is Monday, October 19: two days away.
- If you are not a citizen: remember that in federal elections only U.S. citizens can vote; it is federal law. If you are in the process of naturalizing, you can start getting ready now.
What to do today, in order
- Check your registration today at vote.gov: don’t assume you’re registered. See the voter registration guide for the November 3 elections with state-by-state deadlines.
- Find out how early voting works in your state: many states already allow in-person or mail voting before November 3; dates and requirements vary from state to state.
- If you moved this year, update your address on your voter registration: an outdated registration is one of the most common causes of problems on Election Day.
- Review your county’s sample ballot and mark November 3 on your calendar.
Follow all the updates in the news section. And to understand the mood of the Latino vote this year, read the Pew poll: 55% of Latino voters see the elections as a vote against Trump.
Official sources
- EFE news agency (via ABC): “Más de 2.500 eventos de ‘No Kings’ impulsan el voto anticipado en Estados Unidos” (Oct 17, 2026): https://www.abc.com.py/internacionales/2026/10/17/mas-de-2500-eventos-de-no-kings-impulsan-el-voto-anticipado-en-estados-unidos/
- USA TODAY: “No Kings coalition plans nationwide early voting events” (Oct 15, 2026): https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/10/15/no-kings-coalition-plans-nationwide-early-voting-events/92216269007/
- Fast Company: “‘No Kings’ Oct 17 protest: 2,500 early voting rallies, marches, events” (October 2026): https://www.fastcompany.com/91618419/no-kings-october-17-protests-rally-march-early-voting-midterm-election-events-cities-locations-polling-stations
- AFP (via Lado.mx): “Protestas No Kings en todo Estados Unidos alientan el voto anticipado” (Oct 17, 2026): https://lado.mx/noticia/22085722/
- vote.gov — official U.S. government voter registration site: https://www.vote.gov
Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.
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