No Kings: Vote Early Day of Action and more news from the states

Welcome back! And thank you for joining us. This morning, we’re taking a look at how No Kings organizers across the country planned demonstrations to convince voters to head to the polls early. 

With the general election just 16 days away and early voting underway in dozens of states, people across the nation took to the streets for the No Kings: Vote Early Day of Action to urge their friends and neighbors to get out and vote.

Beyond the speeches, music and marches, some No Kings participants braved cold, rainy weather or waited in long lines as they went to the polls to cast ballots. And in some communities, volunteers registered voters, wrote letters and encouraged neighbors to make a plan to vote, States Newsroom reports.

Missed out on this weekend’s events? Catch up quickly with our live blog, and follow States Newsroom on Bluesky and Instagram for more.

Organizers held more than 2,500 No Kings events across all 50 states and the District of Columbia Saturday, this time focusing their efforts on the midterm elections. From roadside rallies to letter-writing campaigns and protest songs, these demonstrations aimed to get people to the polls early, Stateline reports.

Organizers say that the midterm elections will determine which political party controls Congress. If it’s the Democrats, they could put up roadblocks to President Donald Trump’s agenda. They are hoping the day of early voting could not only increase the pool of voters, but also ease the burden on poll workers on Nov. 3, Election Day. 

Voting is in full swing across dozens of states, with more than 5 million ballots cast, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab. Trump faces a historic low in approval ratings. 

In Nevada, the No Kings rally in Las Vegas coincided with the first day of early voting in the state. Organizers said the rally is the culmination of years of efforts to increase early voting and civic participation. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo is seeking a second term in office.

No Kings organizers in Virginia asked residents to vote “yes” on all three proposed amendments to the state’s constitution. The amendments would codify abortion access, remove the state’s 2006 ban on same-sex marriage, and restore formerly incarcerated Virginians’ voting rights.

A senior organizer with the nonpartisan Common Cause Georgia said the group is still looking for people to serve as monitors at polling places across the state but particularly in metro Atlanta. Poll monitors are trained volunteers who can help assist voters, and they also document any issues that may stop people from voting. The state’s U.S. Senate and governor’s races will be ones to watch.

National: Federal officials are investigating letters containing an unidentified white powder that were mailed to elections offices and capitol buildings in multiple states last week. Officials in Arizona, Louisiana, Ohio and Oklahoma reported receiving the letters, prompting building evacuations and an FBI investigation.

Texas: A 56-year-old Mexican man being held at a processing center in Laredo was found dead in his cell Saturday, Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar confirmed. Emiliano Andrade-Covarrubias was found unresponsive by staff during a security check.

Arizona: The state announced that it intends to join Nevada’s lawsuit challenging the federal government’s most recent plan for the future of the Colorado River. The seven states that depend on Colorado River water have failed to develop a plan to deal with decreasing water availability amid a 25-year mega-drought.

Florida: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the state has asked for a major disaster declaration from the White House after Hurricane Isaias tore through a swath of the Panhandle and was blamed for six deaths.

Pennsylvania: While questions remain over how a Sept. 2 Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in Montour County unfolded, emails obtained through public records requests show police chiefs downplayed the scope of the raid and their role in it.

Ohio: For the second year in a row, the state spent more than a billion dollars on private school vouchers, this time for the 2026 fiscal year. An appellate court ruled last week that the voucher program is unconstitutional, but it will still be able to exist, as the judges expected the state to appeal.  

Nebraska: State law doesn’t require new political parties to disclose their finances until they are qualified to have candidates on the ballot. For 2026, that leaves a gap of at least two months of reporting for the new Nebraska Working People Party and the America First Party that likely will never be disclosed.

See the rest of the news of the day from all 50 states, plus our D.C. Bureau and Stateline, on News From The States.

Sport hunters will be able to bait bears in Alaska national preserves, under a final rule the Trump administration announced. The rule, proposed in March, overturns bans by the Biden and Obama administrations of the practice within National Park Service units, Alaska Beacon reports.

Bear baiting, which involves use of food stockpiles to attract bears that are then killed and harvested, is a controversial practice.

Supporters say that it is a standard hunting method that, as regulated by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, is conducted in a controlled and careful way, affecting only a few animals. But critics say it is unethical and dangerous to wildlife and people.

In Alaska, national preserves, which are part of the National Park Service system, are open to hunting, under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. For most of the years since the passage of that 1980 law, the federal government deferred to state management of sport hunting, which includes allowances for bear baiting at times in certain areas.

The new rule’s bear-baiting allowance in national preserves applies only to sport hunting. Subsistence hunting in federal land units is managed by the federal government, and bear baiting has been allowed for subsistence hunters.