Charleston No Kings organizers ask crowd to vote early in West Virginia

Organizers of the No Kings rally in Charleston, West Virginia, had a simple message Saturday for the crowd who showed up to the state Capitol: vote early. 

The general election is Nov. 3 in West Virginia. Early voting starts Oct. 21 and continues through Oct. 31 at courthouses and other community locations around the state. 

“We are here to encourage everyone to vote and everyone to vote early,” said Sarah Lindstrom, president of United West Virginia, which organized the local rally. “Get those votes in early. It saves us time getting counted.”

Saturday was the fourth No Kings rally at the West Virginia state Capitol. The events were held around the country in protest of the Trump administration. Attendees held protest signs and waved flags. 

Lindstrom said organizers were expecting a bigger turnout than the crowd that showed up. Kanawha Boulevard was closed in front of the Capitol by a line of police vehicles with flashing lights at two points on the roadway. 

Lindstrom said organizers had not requested that Capitol Police close the roadway.

“I personally feel like they’re trying to stifle our voice so that (reporters) don’t see as many people here as would be here if they could drive by and park,” she said. 

A handful of Capitol Police officers standing across the roadway from the Capitol building referred a reporter to the state Department of Homeland Security to answer a question about the road closure. A spokesman for Gov. Patrick Morrisey said he would “make some calls” about why the roadway was closed, but did not have an answer by publication.

Andy Malinoski, a spokesman for the state Department of Homeland Security, said the decision to close the roadway was made to keep people safe.

“At previous demonstrations, we’ve seen participants wander into the roadway, creating safety concerns for both protesters and motorists,” he wrote in an email to West Virginia Watch. “Out of an abundance of caution, Capitol Police closed Kanawha Boulevard in front of the Capitol to protect everyone involved.

“The decision was made solely in the interest of public safety and was not intended to discourage anyone from attending or participating in the rally,” Malinoski wrote.

At their biggest No Kings rally, 1,000 people attended, Lindstrom said. 

“It’s not ruined, but it’s something to observe,” she said. “I find it something to observe for our communities. We want our First Amendment (rights) to be welcomed, not only respected but welcomed. Because if they had something to say, I want them to be able to come out here and say it.”

Marc Adams, of Charleston, carried an “8647” flag at the rally. Adams has a laundry list of complaints about the Trump administration, from immigration officials “seizing” people off the street, to the war in Iran and tearing down the East Wing of the White House complex. 

And while the president is not on the ballot for the midterm election, Adams said his dislike of Trump’s policies is still motivating his vote. 

“He’s not on the ballot, but everyone who has been supporting him, at least half of them are,” Adams said. “So you know, (I’m) definitely voting against all of that. If you have an R after your name, you’re not getting my vote.”

Adams and his partner Carrie Stollings plan to vote early during this election, though they usually like the “vibe” of voting on Election Day. They want their votes to be in and counted early, he said. 

In West Virginia, absentee and early ballots are counted after polls close on Election Day.

Adams said he’s concerned that the Trump administration may not count their votes. 

“We have to make sure that everybody votes, whether it’s on that day or early, and that the votes are counted,” he said. “It may take a fight, there may be some struggles in there.

Rally speakers — including Gina Milam of Huntington — led the crowd in protest chants. 

“I want to hear everybody!” Milam yelled. “We the people! We the people! We the people!”

“Go vote. Take somebody else with you,” Milam said. “And make sure that anybody that needs a ride to the polls can get there.” 

Milam helped restart the Huntington chapter of the National Organization of Women. She said she’s inspired to speak against the Trump administration and Republicans because of the younger women in her life.

“I’m a grandmother, and I have six granddaughters,” she said. “For the first time in my life, I’ve had more rights than my granddaughters have. That’s why it was important to me to start a chapter of NOW in Huntington, and just to build that as much as I possibly can. We’ve got to speak out. We cannot sit idly by and let our democracy be destroyed.”

Renee Corrie, of South Charleston, held a “vote early” sign at the rally. Her husband John said they’re fighting back because they’re “fed up” with the country and what it’s become.

“We’ve got to change,” John Corrie said. “We can’t change (Trump) but we can change the House and Senate.”

The Corries say they’ll vote early just in case something happens that prevents them from voting on Election Day. They don’t trust the United States Postal Service with a mail-in ballot, he said. 

“I don’t trust anything to do with the federal government right now,” he said.