Organisers aim at turnout

The 'No Kings, Vote Now' rally in Atlanta on Saturday was one of many 'No Kings' protests organised across the US ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. Organisers said the aim was getting out the vote and protecting democracy in America.

The protest movement traces its start to February 2025, when Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as a monarch on a fake Time magazine cover.

Kimberly Diemert, communications director for 50501 Georgia, said the intention was community engagement and encouraging early voting with neighbours.

She said the smaller events allow organisers to walk participants to a polling place.

Bond: a society run by working people

At the start of the rally, Kelsea Bond addressed a gathering at a park in midtown Atlanta behind a large blue 'Defending Democracy' sign. Bond, a labour organiser, politician and elected member of the Atlanta City Council, said: "We need to build a society that works for the working class, not the billionaires."

At 33, Bond is the youngest serving councillor and the council's first Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member. She ran for the District 2 seat last year as an independent candidate; the DSA is not a political party.

"We need an economy, we need a society that is democratically run by working people because we keep this economy running," Bond said. Speaking in an interview, she added: "I'm here because we're standing up for democracy in Georgia today."

Bond said Georgia Republicans, in charge for several decades, have rolled back voting rights and threatened during the summer to redraw maps to favour Republicans.

Redistricting shadows the vote

Redistricting hung over the midterm contest. Some US states redrew congressional districts this year after an April 29 Supreme Court ruling enabled mid-cycle redistricting for partisan advantage.

In June, Georgia's Republican state legislative leaders rejected a redistricting bid ahead of the midterms, fearing a voter backlash against the party. Many Democrats fear the state's Republican politicians will attempt to put the issue back on the agenda after the November vote.

March to St. Mark's and election protection

About 300 people then marched roughly a mile from Piedmont Park down to St. Mark's, a local church, with police securing the route.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency was a frequently cited target of anger at the rally. One protester, 37-year-old Daniel, carried a profane anti-ICE sign and said: "ICE is possibly the most evil and disgusting of all." Piper White said: "I'm really tired of what's going on in America. And when I see people being rounded up by ICE… it just makes me really, really sad. I want change."

Other grievances ranged from foreign policy to prices. Marilyn, who declined to give her surname, displayed a Russian doll-shaped banner showing Trump with Putin inside and said she supports Ukraine and opposes the war in Iran. Mark Spivey said he was 'disgusted' with the war in Iran, saying taxpayer money was going to a foreign war while prices and inflation were higher. "We're over eight months into this war now, and there's no end in sight," he said.

At St. Mark's, organisers asked protesters whether they would volunteer as election observers, and a workshop on election protection and observation was held inside. Trish Murphy of Necessary Action Georgia, an Atlanta grassroots political action group, said: "We just want to make sure that this is a free and fair election where everyone's vote counts." Noting past accusations that elections were not fair - referring to Trump's unproven claims about the 2020 vote against Joe Biden - she said the group wants to prevent election interference.