SAN JOSE— With the midterm elections just weeks away, thousands of protesters in the Bay Area joined No Kings marches to promote early voting.
Unlike previous No Kings protests, which focused on the Trump administration’s policies, criticizing the U.S.- led war in Iran and the detainments, arrests and deportation of immigrants, Saturday’s event emphasized the importance of voting.
More than 1,000 gathered at a statue of former president William McKinley in St. James Park near downtown San Jose to support the No Kings: Vote Early protest, which started at noon.
Protester Geri Wittig said it was a “critical time” to reclaim the power “away from all the corruption.”
“To be part of democracy, we have to vote,” Wittig said. “There are people who have died for the right to vote and there are people dying because of the way things were in the last vote [election]. It’s critical to turn things around with our votes.”
Chanting “Vote!Vote!” and “No justice, no peace, no kings in our streets,” and holding placards, protesters marched toward the San Jose City Hall before heading back to the park.