Indivisible Santa Barbara is turning its latest No Kings rally to be a call for early voting, hoping Saturday’s turnout will encourage people beyond the crowd to cast ballots before the November 3 election. The No Kings Vote Early event will run from noon-2 p.m., Saturday, October 17, at Alameda Park, 1400 Santa Barbara Street. A short rally begins at noon, and the march leaves at 12:30 p.m., headed for De la Guerra Plaza.
Organizers describe the event as nonpartisan. No elected officials will give speeches, wrote Ian Paige, with the steering committee for Indivisible Santa Barbara, in an email. While the rallies have become known for their clever signs, participants are asked to leave at home any candidate, political party, or ballot measure signs.
“We know the people who are aware of, and who will attend, the rally are already high propensity voters,” Paige said. “We hope the publicity and turnout for the rally will inspire others to do the easy thing, just fill out the ballot, and drop it in the mail or a ballot drop box early, and not wait.”
Paige expects several thousand people to attend and indicated a limited number of chairs and accessible restrooms will be available at the park. Organizers estimated that about 12,000 people attended a Santa Barbara rally in March, according to previous Independent reporting.
The march will leave Alameda Park behind the Brasscals band, travel down Anacapa Street, and stop at the ballot drop box near City Hall before ending at De la Guerra Plaza. People may bring their own completed, sealed, and signed ballots, according to an organizer newsletter. However, organizers will not help participants complete their ballots or recommend candidates or measures. Each voter must deposit their own ballot.
Paige said Indivisible encourages early voting because ballots arriving late can slow the completion of vote counts. “The earlier all the votes are in, the earlier the County Election Office can count them and certify the results,” he said.
