Dozens of "No Kings" protests held across Michigan Saturday aimed to boost voter participation on this year's midterm elections that will determine control of U.S. Congress for the final two years of President Donald Trump's term.
Previous "No Kings" demonstrations targeted the actions of President Trump and his administration, but these events have a different goal: bringing people out to vote, organizers said.
“We’re still marching, but we’re marching to the polls,” said Emily Busch of the Michigan Freedom Coalition, one of the groups organizing Saturday's protests. "The war with Iran has driven up gas, diesel, and grocery prices, and our electric bills are climbing so data centers can be built in our backyards. This is not normal, our lives do not have to be this way, and we can stop it. This is still a democracy, if we’re willing to fight for it.”
The largest protests in the state were held in Ferndale, Troy, Grand Rapids, Lansing and Traverse City, but up to one hundred across the state were planned, according to organizers.
"No Kings" is a political organization that mobilizes civil disobedience through protests against President Donald Trump across the U.S. The group provides online resources, training programs and voter information via its online site and partnerships with businesses and other advocacy groups.
In Ferndale on Saturday morning, hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Nine Mile Road. Many were holding homemade signs with anti-Trump slogans or messages about voting in the Nov. 3 election.
Preserving the democratic process and rooting out corruption in the political system were top of mind for several protesters who spoke to The News.
"I'm really concerned about democracy and the corruption that's in politics right now," said Merry Beth Tacy, a lifelong Democrat who lives in Ferndale.
She said, "I'm here to make sure everyone gets out and votes early, especially so that there's no shenanigans, because we've seen that." Tacy has already submitted her absentee ballot.
Tina Lehmann of Northport said she made the trip down from northern Michigan to attend the rally with her brother, Tony, who lives in Huntington Woods.
"We're so saturated with so much misinformation and lies and misdirection and just corruption, I just can't take it anymore. Something has to change, and we have to change Washington," she said.
Both of the Lehmanns support the Senate campaign of Abdul El-Sayed, she added. "We think he's terrific, he's got fresh ideas, fresh blood, just a freshness to what we need to have done."
Tony Lehmann said the worsening relationship between the U.S. and other countries around the world is a top priority for him, especially relations with Canada.
"For a Michigander, we suffer first when it comes to irresponsible policies toward our most trusted neighbor, Canada, and we need to change that dynamic," he said. "We can't do it along. America can't be a separatist. We can't be alone in the world. Now we're seen as the enemy worldwide, we're not seen as an advocate for love and peace and prosperity and people are moving away from us."
While passing out buttons with the No Kings logo on them at a folding table, Kimber Bishop-Yanke, a member of the advocacy group Indivisible Fighting 9, said the Trump administration's attacks on its political enemies and the "unprofessionalism and fear ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has brought to our communities," motivated her most.
"I'm here fighting for my kids and everybody else's kids. I'm fighting for our immigrant neighbors and really for democracy, and for what America is supposed to be about," Bishop-Yanke said.
She said the purpose of the rally was to "inspire people to motivate people to connect with people, that we're all in this together, we're fighting for each other to vote to be part of our democracy."
The midterm election is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, and will determine congressional, gubernatorial, and state and local positions across the U.S. Michigan is the site of several key races for the national political landscape, including the tightly contested U.S. Senate race between El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers.
Michigan residents can vote early by requesting an absentee ballot and mailing it or dropping it off at a local clerk's office. Early in-person voting is also scheduled at designated sites before Election Day. Voters can look up their early voting sites at Michigan.gov/Vote.