Protesters in San Jose urge midterm voting

SAN JOSE— With the midterm elections just weeks away, thousands of protesters in the Bay Area joined No Kings marches to promote early voting.

Unlike previous No Kings protests, which focused on the Trump administration’s policies, criticizing the U.S.- led war in Iran and the detainments, arrests and deportation of immigrants, Saturday’s event emphasized the importance of voting.

More than 1,000 gathered at a statue of former president William McKinley in St. James Park near downtown San Jose to support the No Kings: Vote Early protest, which started at noon.

Protester Geri Wittig said it was a “critical time” to reclaim the power “away from all the corruption.”

“To be part of democracy, we have to vote,” Wittig said. “There are people who have died for the right to vote and there are people dying because of the way things were in the last vote [election]. It’s critical to turn things around with our votes.”

Chanting “Vote!Vote!” and “No justice, no peace, no kings in our streets,” and holding placards, protesters marched toward the San Jose City Hall before heading back to the park.

The event marked the fourth “No Kings” protest. The first nationwide protest, which reportedly drew 5 million participants, was in June 2025. It countered a military parade in Washington, D.C., for the Army’s 250th anniversary and Trump’s 79th birthday.

In October the same year, protesters gathered again, drawing a larger crowd nationwide. In March, more than 3,000 individual events were scheduled with protests in every state across the country.

Assemblymember Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, said an “ecosystem” of people hungry for power and wealth is working to undermine the nation’s democracy.

“These are oligarchs that prefer fascism over democracy. They have already taken control of our economic systems. They have bought up our media. They have bought up our democracy,” Kalra said.

“But what they have not been able to buy is us. They cannot buy the people, and that’s why it is so important for the people to not give up in the face of what seems like insurmountable odds.”

The Trump administration was trying to “steal” the midterm election by sending U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to intimidate communities in California, claimed Kalra.

“They know they’re going to lose, so that’s why they’re cheating. They know they’re going to lose, and that’s why they’re sending their goons into our communities, rounding up folks, going after innocent people, and locking them up for their own profit,” Kalra said.

On Monday, the assemblyman urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to protect polling stations and prevent federal interference in elections.

“I believe he should be prepared to mobilize the National Guard to protect voting locations and ensure that every Californian can cast their vote free from intimidation and interference,” Kalra said in a statement.

Steve Campbell, who joined the San Jose protest, said he “hated” the attacks on the voting process and what he called the “incredible corruption” of the current administration.

“He [Trump] doesn’t care about us, but he just wants to enrich his family,” Campbell said.

Another protester, Lori Schmelzer, encouraged people to vote.

“And for those who voted for Trump in the past, don’t be fooled. The Republican Party is loyal to the MAGA movement and won’t stop until they destroy what’s left of our fragile democracy,” she said.

On Thursday, the Trump administration sued California election officials and asked a judge to stop the state from counting mail-in ballots from people the federal government identified as “likely” non-citizens for November’s midterm elections, the AP reported.

The U.S. Justice Department said California officials failed to meet a 48-hour deadline to evaluate a password-protected thumb drive that it said had a list of 20,000 names of people who are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots to participate in the election.

The state mails ballots to all registered voters.