Life

No Kings protest emphasizes right to vote

NEW ULM – Community members lined the blocks of Broadway near Center Street Saturday for New Ulm Indivisible's No Kings event.

This marked the fourth national No Kings protest. Unlike the others, which focused on the no kings message, the emphasis this time was on voting.

"This is a nonpartisan effort to encourage people to vote," Indivisible New Ulm member Garrett Elbing said. "Whether you're red or blue, we want everyone to exercise that fundamental right, so we're out here today.

Independent John Arnoldy, who lived in Oregon for 45 years, said that he'd been looking forward to Saturday's protest.

"It's been too many days since we’ve had a good protest," Arnoldy said.

He believes the biggest issues facing America are the war with Iran and the genocide in Israel, both of which Arnoldy said the current administration has played a major role in.

"I trust the Trump administration will let us bring in a fair election and then the blue wave will take over," Arnoldy said.

For Wendy Tuttle, who has been protesting since the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam War, Saturday's protest was a family occasion, with her grandchildren present.

"What's most important is what happens with them," Tuttle said.

Tuttle demonstrated to her grandchildren the importance of exercising her first amendment right to freedom of speech.

"One of the biggest issues is probably the fact that we the people aren't being listened to. It is the elite that have the power and the voice," Tuttle said. "I think it's important for us to show our voice by voting and by showing this sort of comradery of citizenship so that it shows we still care."

Darlene Nelson, who is 90 years old, showed that she still cares by coming out to protest for the first time.

"I wanted to do this for myself and for the country," Nelson said.

She said that she's seen a lot of change over the years in how America operates.

"It's like people then really believed in the constitution and now it's like what can I do to get around what the constitution says because I want to do my own thing," Nelson said.

She blames president Trump for these changes.

"I think number 47 has given a lot of people permission to do this when they never felt OK to do before," She said.

Darlene Nelson's son David Nelson also attended the rally. David Nelson was in the navy for 24 years and worked for the missile defense agency in Virginia after that. He critiqued Trump's handling of the military and held a sign that read: Veterans against Trump.

"The extrajudicial killing of people down in the Caribbean without any authorization, that's totally against the constitution and illegal against every international law and United States law," David Nelson said.

He also criticized Trump's involvement with the Iran war, while also holding the Republican party responsible.

"I think a lot of that is not just him, it's the Republican party abdicating their duty under the constitution to provide a check and a balance against the executive branch," David Nelson said. "That's why I want people up and down the ticket to vote democrat because if someone is in lock step with trump and his policies, I think they all need to go."

Regardless of political affiliations, it is everyone's constitutional right to vote. Early voting and absentee voting is already underway. Election day is Tuesday, November 3. Information on voting can be found at https://vote411.org/