-Several dozen people participated in a “No Kings: Vote Early” rally held in Bellows Falls on Oct. 17, with two groups marching through the village and connecting with a larger group in The Square.
Many marchers brought their ballots with them and deposited them in an early voting collection box beside the Town Hall. A voter registration table was also available, as were cider, doughnuts and cookies.
Rockingham Town Clerk Kathleen Kelly told event organizers Oct. 19 that 65 ballots were submitted in the Town Hall drop box over the weekend.
Rally attendees were reminded that all Vermont voters should have received their mail-in ballots. Anyone who has not received one should check with their town clerk.
All Vermont ballots that were not able to be delivered by mail end up with the community’s town clerk and can be picked up from their office.
The rally was one of several in the area. Others took place in Brattleboro, Chester, Westminster, and Wilmington in southeastern Vermont, and in Walpole, New Hampshire.
According to an email from Indivisible, the primary national organizers, there were “nearly 3,000 events in all 50 states and across the globe,” making No Kings: Vote Early “the single largest early vote activation in U.S. history.”
Organized by the same people who organized the local No Kings protests, the Vote Early event in Bellows Falls was decidedly more low key and advertised as intentionally non-partisan. A few creative costumes and several handmade signs were visible, but no speeches or stumping for any candidates took place.
Organizers described Oct. 17 as “a day of nonpartisan voter participation: We are bringing our community together to make a plan to vote early and ensuring every eligible voter understands their options for how to vote and has the opportunity to make their voice heard.”
A ‘good vibe’
M.D. Baker, a member of Brattleboro Indivisible, said in an email to The Commons that approximately 250 people attended a brief rally on the Town Common before a march to the nearby Municipal Center, where early voting and voter registration took place.
“A few of them deposited their ballots to loud cheers,” she wrote. “There was a good vibe throughout.”
The Brattleboro event had information tables from various community groups, a superhero costume contest, and lots of cookies, popcorn, and cider.
A surprise musical guest was Emma’s Revolution, an activist duo who later performed a benefit concert at All Souls Church in West Brattleboro.
The next step after the Oct. 17 events, according to Indivisible, is “bringing together participants from our thousands of events into a single, coordinated election defense network.”
A national online meeting to discuss election protection strategy is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. Those interested in attending can register at mobilize.us/nokings/event/1041684.
With additional reporting by Commons news editor Randolph T. Holhut.
This News item by Robert F. Smith was written for The Commons.