'No Kings' encourages voter registration

Coeur d’Alene residents joined cities across the nation Saturday afternoon for another “No Kings” event. Around 400 participants peacefully gathered with signs at the corner of Appleway Avenue and U.S. Highway 95.

In a break from prior “No Kings” protests, organizer Julie Celeberti said the event was intended to be nonpartisan. The goal was to remind citizens to vote in the November election and raise awareness of voting options.

“We have lots of people who have never voted before voting in this election,” Celeberti said. “We want them to have the opportunity to know how to vote and know the different ways they can vote, so they can exercise their most important right.”

Organizers offered voter registration forms for people to fill out, which they plan to deliver to the elections office. They also encouraged attendees to join early-voting parties hosted by Idaho Indivisible. Celeberti said these gatherings will take place each day of early voting, during which people will walk to polling places together.

“It is about community,” Celeberti said. "Ultimately you don’t only vote for yourself, you vote for your democracy and you vote for your community.”

The national “No Kings: Vote Early” events follow the Trump administration’s Executive Order 14248, signed March 25, 2025, tightening voter requirements.

The order requires documentary proof of citizenship, such as a passport, for voter registration; directs federal agencies to share voter data with states; challenges the counting of mail-in ballots received after Election Day; and calls for updating federal voting-system standards to emphasize paper records. Some of these provisions have been partially blocked in federal court.

“Somebody who was born in another state might have to get a copy of their birth certificate, which is doable, but it can cost money and it takes time,” Celeberti said.

Though the event was intended to be nonpartisan, Celeberti said not everyone got the message. Some attendees’ signs expressed partisan opinions, and counterprotesters drove past waving President Donald Trump flags and anti-abortion banners.

Attendees Paul and Marcia Wingfield stood on the side of the highway with a sign reading “military veteran: I serve for freedom not fascism.”

“We’re tired of the corruption and the crassness of our current president," Marcia said.

“I was in Vietnam, I fought for this country, I fought for freedom, and they’re trying to take it away,” Paul added. “The president is getting filthy rich off of our backs, he couldn’t care less about us. It’s all about the people, the one percent on the top, the little guy gets nothing.”

The Wingfields agreed with the sentiment of encouraging everyone to vote in the November election.

“You gotta vote, that’s your right, that’s how we fight back,” Paul said.

“It’s also your privilege, and it can be taken away,” Marcia added. "We gotta get out there and voice our opinions.”

    Paul and Marcia Wingfield at the No Kings event on Saturday.
  

    Jean Richardson and JoAnn Schaller provide voting information at the No Kings event on Saturday.