Michigan No Kings rallies blend anti-Trump protests with calls to vote early

Thousands of demonstrators gathered at No Kings rallies across Michigan on Saturday as organizers hoped to turn the movement’s opposition to President Donald Trump into increased voter turnout in November’s midterm elections.

With early in-person voting set to begin statewide next weekend, rallies in Lansing, Ferndale and Grand Rapids were among dozens across the state that combined criticism of the Trump administration with calls for voters to make a plan to cast their ballots and help protect the election process.

Lansing’s No Kings protest on the West Lawn of the Michigan State Capitol was heavily focused on encouraging attendees to vote — especially using early voting methods, including absentee ballots and early in-person voting, the latter of which begins on Oct. 24 in Michigan. 

Much like at past No Kings events, many signs in the crowd of a few hundred attendees were critical or mocking of President Donald Trump and his policies, including those around immigration enforcement. Disapproval of the current federal administration was an overarching theme among attendees.

Anne Paquet Howard, 78, a Lansing resident, reminisced on her time campaigning for Robert F. Kennedy as a student at Michigan State University in the 1960s. She said it taught her “the importance of one person, one vote.”

“I was a part of the Great Society, and I think that’s one of the eras where America was really working more towards a perfect union. And it saddens my heart to see what’s developed since then, so I’ll be here and thankfully I’m still healthy,” she said. “The big message is get out to vote, everyone, please, it still works.”

“Make your plans to vote early and be the election protectors we know you can be,” Alyson Grigsby, an organizer with Voters Not Politicians, told the crowd.

Throughout the rally, organizers posed hypotheticals about situations that could arise on Election Day, such an ICE presence at a polling location, and discussed how they might respond — alerting relevant local leaders, including the precinct captains and local clerks, and reporting incidents to election protection organizations.

Speakers heavily encouraged anyone with concerns on or leading up to Election Day to make use of a nonpartisan voter hotline, but also encouraged voters to verify information that they may see on social media about elections with trusted sources like the ACLU or election officers.

“It’s important to leave today not only knowing you have a plan to vote early, but also have a plan to keep our elections and our communities safe, on Election Day and the days afterwards,” Grigsby said.

The focus on early voting was clear from organizers ahead of Saturday’s event, and the rally itself included opportunities for attendees to sign up to be poll watchers or poll challengers on Election Day.

Also present at Lansing’s rally were booths for various political organizations, including the Ingham County Democratic Party and those in favor of Michigan’s Proposition 2, the Michiganders for Money Out of Politics ballot measure to limit campaign spending by utility companies and government contractors.

In Ferndale, one of southeast Michigan’s larger rallies drew several hundred demonstrators to the intersection of 9 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, with a mix of signs both encouraging voters to cast their ballots and simultaneously excoriating the actions of the Trump administration.

Even though this iteration of No Kings activity was supposed to be about encouraging people to vote, the signs that dozens of demonstrators carried and waved at traffic lambasted the Trump administration, ICE, and the president’s stress-testing the limits of executive power. 

@michiganadvance Tyler Scott – aka @T Moscotto – breaks down the No Kings rally in Ferndale. @No kings #nokings ♬ original sound – Michigan Advance

The pro-voting activism was happening where volunteers with the anti-authoritarian activist network Indivisible and their partners asked those attending the rally about their plans to vote, and whether they felt knowledgeable about the ballot proposals Michiganders statewide will be voting on in November, along with the candidates for elected office. 

“For my granddaughters I feel like I need to stand up for their future, all my grandkids’ future, and especially our girls, their human rights,” Julie Bloss of St. Clair Shores, Michigan said when asked why she was attending the Ferndale gathering.

Stephen Machlay of Detroit was more blunt in his rationale for attending the rally.

“I’m tired of fascism in America. Our economy is in shambles. The tariffs are a disaster. He’s making enemies of all our allies and friends with all our enemies,” Machlay said, referring to Trump.

Traffic honked, mostly in friendly affirmation of the anti-Trump administration signs. There was one noticeable moment of minor counter-protesting, when a Trump supporter yelled “four more years” and shook his fist at a person in a full-body furry suit who held a sign reading “melt that ICE.”

Meanwhile, in West Michigan, No Kings drew people to Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids, which was filled with hundreds of demonstrators Saturday morning as part of the nationwide day of action, officially dubbed “No Kings: Vote Early.”

The demonstration — which focused on impacting polls on a local scale — featured speakers from Indivisible Kent County, Unite and Resist Grand Rapids and UCC Power Fund, as well as a live performance by Asamu Johnson and the Associates of the Blues.

Jim Hollebeek, who attended Saturday’s demonstration, used to teach American history. He said he’s disappointed by the direction the nation is going.

“This is not the country that I taught about, and that saddens me a lot,” he said. “I think it’s time people got together and took that country back to where it was and where it ought to be.”

Hollebeek and his daughter Kim Dewey live in Grand Rapids, and they’ve attended all four downtown No Kings demonstrations together.

The two said Saturday’s event wasn’t as well-advertised as previous protests, but they hope it will still impact the midterm elections.

“That’d be awesome if everyone would get out and make their voices heard, because that’s their right,” Dewey said. “I’m hopeful that we take over both the House and the Senate.”