Madison No Kings march focuses on early voting in midterm elections

MADISON – About 1,000 people gathered at 2 p.m. on a sunny Saturday afternoon for a No Kings protest in James Madison park near Lake Monona in downtown Madison. The crowd swelled to about 1,500 as protesters marched to the Capitol in a long line with police stopping traffic at intersections along the way. The Forward Marching Band played “Solidarity Forever” on tubas, horns and drums as marchers carrying signs protesting the Trump administration rounded the square and converged in front of City Hall to listen to speakers who urged everyone to vote early in the 2026 midterm elections.

Gina Idsinga came to the rally from her home in McFarland with a homemade sign that displayed the names of her five grandchildren and the statement: “I need to be able to tell my  grandchildren I did not stay silent.” 

“I feel very strongly about what is going on and we just need to band together and keep community in mind,” she said. “No country is a good country without taking care of its people and this administration is definitely not taking care of its people.”

Beside her, Idsinga’s friend Dee Reid carried a sign that said “No crowns for clowns.” She said she came out to support “all the things that this country has worked hard to keep,” including abortion rights, Social Security and Obamacare. She has been thinking about retiring soon, she said, but the cost of living is making her worry about whether she will be able to stop working. Her kids are also struggling with high costs, she said. “Both have really good careers and can’t buy a house. Interest rates are high, housing is not affordable and things are going in the wrong direction, so we need to focus on what’s good for us and not on starting wars in places we really don’t need to right now.”

Dineen Seymour-Nahn, a retired public school teacher in Madison said, “We have to vote in Crowley and Josh Kaul, and just vote in Democrats up and down the ticket, because really, if we don’t win this, who knows what will happen in 2028? With Tom Tiffany in there, he’ll undo everything we’ve done even in the last two years with some really good Supreme Court races. All that will come back – gerrymandering, anti-abortion laws, so that’s why we’re here.”

Sue Jennik, the president of the  League of Women Voters of Dane County stood behind a table in front of City Hall with information on the candidates running in Wisconsin in 2026, the proposed constitutional amendments voters will see on on their ballots and instructions on how to register, vote early and use a ballot drop box: “Everything people need to know to protect their right to vote,” she said.

“Don’t trust an email that tells you you’re registered to vote if you just moved to Wisconsin,” said Melissa Markquart, a singer in the protest group the Raging Grannies. “We have grannies out registering people to vote, and they’ve had people tell them they got emails that said they were already registered – but there’s no automatic registration in Wisconsin,” she added.

Ajak Johnson, one of the march organizers, ran back and forth along the line directing marchers throughout. “These national events keep happening and we keep organizing things here on the ground,” she said. “I think it’s important for people to come together.” 

Early voting starts in Wisconsin on Oct 20, she added, “and I would just hope that people would leave here with a plan to early vote.”