No Kings volunteers bring early voting message to Hope Street Farmers Market in Providence

There were no chants, no speeches and only a handful of signs at a No Kings event Saturday morning in Providence.

Instead, a few dozen volunteers fanned out across the Hope Street Farmers Market on the East Side, weaving through booths of locally grown produce and artisan baked goods with something else for sale.

They were promoting the merits of early voting, said Joe Cook, a Providence resident and organizer with Indivisible Metro RI.

“We just wanted to meet a lot of people without being super intrusive, on a day when they might have a chance to relax and talk,” Cook said.

Across Rhode Island, other civic organizations held their own outreach events, a combination of rallies outside municipal government buildings, neighborhood canvassing or attending community events like the farmers market, all focused on highlighting the value of early voting. Nationally, No Kings organizers also rebranded the protest event to emphasize voter education and increase early voting turnout in the 2026 midterm elections.

More than 15,000 Rhode Island voters have already cast ballots through early, in-person voting hours at designated polling places in each location since the 20-day early voting period began Wednesday, Oct. 14, according to the Rhode Island Department of State’s online tracker. 

The Sept. 9 state primaries saw record numbers of early voting, with more than 37,000 people voting during the 20-day early voting period that preceded the primary day itself. While a majority of voters still cast ballots on Election Day, early voting has become increasingly popular as awareness and comfort spread since these options were introduced in 2020 and enshrined in state law in 2022.

“In this state we’re kind of preaching to the choir here,” said Dave Walczak, of Cranston. But, he added, “If we can bring the numbers up, even get an extra 100 people to show up and vote, that’s a good goal.”

The retired signmaker came ready with a dozen extra signs for fellow volunteers to wave at the edges of the farmers market. “Timshel ‘thou mayest’ vote,” read the yellow lettering on Walczak’s own sign, a reference to John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden.”

Other messages were more to the point: “Vote early,” or “Vote for Democracy” were two popular slogans.

Voting early can be more convenient, avoiding long lines or last-minute complications, such as delayed opening of several Providence polling places on Sept. 9  due to poll workers not showing up.

“It could be more secure if you’re concerned about bad actors showing up on the day of the vote, and the early vote turnout is also just a wonderful signal of the power of democracy,” Cook said, offering volunteers tips on how to pitch early voting to the people at the farmers market.

Yet the audience was not entirely receptive.

“I don’t vote early,” Kay Lisle replied bluntly when approached by a volunteer.

She continued, “I’m 86, I’m old, I like to do things the old-fashioned way.”

It helps that there is an Election Day polling place at Laurelmead, the independent senior living community off Blackstone Boulevard where Lisle and her companion, Debbie Mulcare, both live.

“We literally just go downstairs,” Mulcare said.

But the pair took a flyer anyway before heading across the park in search of spinach pies and shellfish.

A few feet away, Molly Mollica rocked a double stroller, a canning jar of fresh cut flowers tucked into the cupholder. Newly returned to Rhode Island after living in Boston, Mollica, who grew up in Barrington but now lives in Pawtucket, said she planned to vote early “given these guys,” referring to the 6-month-old twins nestled in the stroller.

Top-of-mind for her partner, Andrew Parent, was revitalizing Pawtucket’s local economy

“You lose Hasbro, you lose the hospital, Pawtucket needs a change,” Parent said, referring to the impending relocation of the toymaker and the 2018 closure of Memorial Hospital.

Julie Sacks, also of Pawtucket, was most focused on the city’s school committee races due to her concerns about potential book bans in public schools.

“These local races are critical,” Sacks said. “Sometimes people focus on the national races, but it starts locally.”

Sacks usually votes on Election Day, preferring to take in the fanfare and mark the occasion with dinner with her husband.

“We cry, or we laugh, depending on the results,” Sacks said.

But this time, she voted on the first day of early voting  Wednesday in preparation for her commitment as a poll worker on Nov. 3.

All No Kings events are nonpartisan.

More information on early voting hours and locations is available on the Rhode Island Department of State website.