FERNDALE, Mich. — Saturday’s round of No Kings demonstrations across Michigan carried a new emphasis: get voters to the polls early. At least 100 events were held around the state, mixing familiar criticism of President Donald Trump with sign-up tables, voter guides and reminders about when ballots can be cast.
The timing is deliberate. Early in-person voting opens statewide on Oct. 24, about a week before the Nov. 3 general election, and rally organizers pressed attendees to settle on a plan, whether by absentee ballot or at an early voting site.
Some of the largest gatherings were in Ferndale, where several hundred people lined the corner of 9 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, and in Grand Rapids, where hundreds filled Rosa Parks Circle downtown. Other crowds turned out in Troy and on the West Lawn of the state Capitol in Lansing. The national day of action was billed as No Kings: Vote Early.
Several sites doubled as organizing hubs. Volunteers recruited poll watchers and poll challengers for Election Day, asked people whether they understood the statewide ballot proposals, and pointed voters toward a nonpartisan hotline for problems at the polls. In Troy, attendees could meet candidates and sign up to text or knock on doors.
Democrats also used the Troy gathering as a campaign stop. Among them was Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, the Democratic nominee for secretary of state, who faces Republican Anthony Forlini in November and has criticized federal efforts to obtain Michigan voter information.
Ballot measures were part of the pitch as well. Supporters of Proposition 2, which would cap how much utilities and companies holding government contracts can spend on campaigns, staffed a booth at the Lansing rally.
Signs at the events took aim at immigration enforcement, tariffs, the cost of living and the reach of presidential power. Requests for comment to the Michigan Republican Party on the rallies went unanswered.
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