'No Kings' movement gathers to focus on voter turnout

British ColumbiaA week after several B. C. cities reported advance polling records, preliminary final election results from several large municipalities confirm more people flocked to the polls Saturday than in the last municipal elections. Political scientists say high voter turnout indicative of political changeMichelle Gomez · CBC News · Posted: Oct 18, 2026 5:56 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. Second day of advance voting for municipal election in Vancouver, B. C., on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (Nav Rahi/CBC)A week after several B. C. cities reported smashing advance polling records, preliminary final election results from several large municipalities confirm more people flocked to the polls Saturday than in the last municipal elections four years ago. Experts say high voter turnout typically indicates people are dissatisfied with the status quo. Indeed, many of these races resulted in leadership change.

Ottawa·Ottawa Votes 2026Four years ago, Kitchissippi ward saw the highest percentage of eligible residents cast ballots in Ottawa's municipal election, while Rideau-Vanier had the lowest percentage. Roughly 44 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots last time aroundNathan Fung · CBC News · Posted: Oct 18, 2026 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: October 18Listen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. A sign outside an advance voting polling station at the Sandy Hill Community Centre in Rideau-Vanier. In 2022, the central Ottawa ward had the lowest turnout of the city's 24 wards. (Mathieu Deroy/CBC)What are residents in the wards that had Ottawa's highest and lowest voter turnout in the last municipal election saying this time around? Back in 2022, Barrhaven East ranked second-last in voter turnout. In that ward, 12,244 people cast ballots , or only 39 per cent of eligible voters. "That makes me mad," said Emily Page, a young mother who lives in the ward and plans on voting in this election.

Amid reports of a surge in federal immigration raids, Los Angeles leaders and immigration advocates said Friday that the efforts appear aimed at discouraging turnout in the midterm elections, and urged voters not to be intimidated. “The timing of these actions, just weeks before the midterm elections, is no accident,” said Jeannette Zanipatin, policy director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. “These tactics seek to silence immigrant communities, suppress civic participation and divide our neighborhoods.” Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, at a news conference in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. (Gary Coronado / For The Times) CHIRLA’s executive director, Angelica Salas, blamed the Republican Trump administration for seeking to discourage voting and said her organizations and others will send legal observers to the polls across the state as part of the Can’t Stop California campaign. “As threats of intimidation from the Trump administration continue just 18 days before the election date, do not let anyone convince you that your voice does not matter,” Salas said at a news conference in downtown Los Angeles.

Hundreds of protesters, many saying they’re fed up with the current state of the U. S. government, gathered in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon as part of the nationwide “No Kings” demonstrations calling for early voter turnout in the upcoming Nov. 3 midterm elections. By midday, several hundred people gathered at Gloria Molina Grand Park, carrying signs that declared “No Kings” with pictures of President Trump. The sun beat down, keeping attendees in the shade until around 1 p.m., when speeches began ahead of a planned march through downtown. Protesters gather with signs and listen to speeches before the start of the “No Kings” march in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) One sign read, “Dethrone dementia Don,” with a photo of the president sitting on a toilet wearing a crown. “Not voting is the leading cause of unwanted presidencies,” another read. Booths lined the park, including one promoting ranked-choice voting. State Sen. Sasha Renee Perez (D-Pasadena) appeared at the rally before the march through downtown, leading the crowd into a call and response against Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and fascism.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Governor Kathy Hochul and Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman campaigned in separate appearances Sunday, offering sharply different visions for New York as voters prepare for early voting and Election Day. Hochul visited Concourse Village in the Bronx, where she highlighted policies including a ban on cell phones in schools and expanded access to community college and child care. The governor said those priorities are rooted in her own experiences. "I knew what it was like to struggle, not having child care. That's why as governor, when I'm focusing on your family as my fight and we're going to have child care for everybody, this was a personal fight because I knew what it was like not to have it," Hochul said. Meanwhile, Blakeman campaigned in Elmont on Long Island alongside Lee Zeldin, whom Hochul narrowly defeated in the 2022 gubernatorial election. Zeldin later became administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Trump administration. While Hochul did not mention Blakeman during her Bronx appearance, supporters said a major challenge for Democrats in the borough is voter turnout. "I'm counting on all of you," Hochul told attendees.