Across the country, demonstrators gathered Saturday for the latest No Kings Nationwide Day of Action.
This time, the focus was on voting early in the midterm elections.
In Galesburg, rallygoers on the public square encouraged local voters to cast their ballots early—and to encourage their friends and neighbors to do the same.
“This one’s different in that this is a vote early rally all across the country,” said Jeanne Clark, who has been organizing anti-Trump administration protests in Galesburg for 19 months. “So we just want to get out the vote before the midterms.”
Clark said the group also continues to raise concerns about immigration, ICE, the economy, the war in Iran, and tariffs.
“There's just so many things that have affected us negatively,” Clark said. “The farmers, the workers in this area feel it's very important, this election.”
While Donald Trump is not on the ballot, the potential for Democrats to take control of Congress was on the minds of protestors at Saturday’s rally, many of whom have faithfully shown up week after week, rain or shine.
Patrice Reed of Galesburg has joined the protests every week for the last year or so. On Saturday, she carried a sign that said “Nope. No Kings. No dictators. No oligarchs.”
“I feel like we’re losing our civil rights, and we’re losing ourselves to oligarchs,” Reed said. “That’s not what America is supposed to be.”
Reed said she’s already cast her ballot and typically votes early.
“That way, I don’t have to worry about gee, what happened that day? Did I fall down and break my leg? I’ve just already done it,” Reed said. “I can also be available [on election day] to anybody I know who maybe needs a ride or wants a little encouragement. Or maybe needs somebody to just go with them.”
On the other side of the public square, Lynn Solontoi of Monmouth held a sign that read “Be a Protector of Democracy.”
She said there’s been too much hate and too much division in America.
“We need to come back together to make sure that everyone actually does vote,” Solontoi said. “The earlier you vote, then it's done. It's in the books. There's no forgetting, there's no missing out.”
Pam Davidson, a Knox County board member and chair of the Knox County Democrats, told the couple hundred people who came out for the protest that Saturday wasn’t just about having no kings in America.
“But we are the people,” Davidson said. “We are the people and our voices are heard in the ballot box. When you vote, you show that you are the people.”
For Davidson, a commitment to vote is rooted in the struggles women and Black Americans faced to secure that right. She voted on the first day of early voting.
“As a Black American female, my race had to work like heck to be able to vote. I’m never going to miss that opportunity,” Davidson said. “My mother’s lived to be 100 years old, and she was barely able to vote. I’m going to vote, and I’m going to take somebody with me.”
Davidson urged rallygoers to spread the message far.
You need to tell your neighbors,” Davidson said. “You need to tell the people who are not your friends to get out and vote.”
Bob Rogers is another regular protestor. He said the approaching midterms are a pivotal moment for the country, though he fears election results could be challenged.
“So we want to get our voices heard and understand we are kind of on the crux of a constitutional crisis as we approach these elections as well,” Rogers said.
Rogers believes early voting is a smart thing to do. He believes the protestors who have gathered on Galesburg’s public square, week after week, have made a difference.
“It makes a difference for me in my heart,” Rogers said. “And I think as we see the progression of this administration, you start seeing people questioning their decisions. So it may make people that may have been center right, maybe pull them back across the line a little bit. I’m personally what you call center left.”
Protest organizer Clark said Saturday’s No Kings rally in Galesburg may have had a lower turnout than previous ones. But she said, no matter how many people show up to a rally, the camaraderie is powerful.
She said she’s met many people doing this that she wouldn’t have otherwise.
“It's given me more empathy and compassion for people that live different lifestyles, have different beliefs than I do. And I think everybody feels that. They love to come here because they do feel they're with like-minded people,” Clark said.
Tri States Public Radio produced this story. TSPR relies on financial support from our readers and listeners in order to provide coverage of the issues that matter to west central Illinois, southeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri. As someone who values the content created by TSPR's news department please consider making a financial contribution.TSPR Local News
