By Michael Angelo
‘No Kings’ in Clairemont/Kearny Mesa/Linda Vista
On Saturday, more than 2,500 ‘No Kings: Vote Early’ events took place all over the United States, mobilizing voters to cast their ballots early for the upcoming midterm elections. On that day, San Diego saw 24 locally organized ‘No Kings’ events encouraging voters in the county to do the same.
As a Rag writer, I attended two of these events and spoke with event organizers and participants about the importance of early voting and what motivated them to get involved. We’ve already given you a sample of these events, but here’s a closer look at what ‘No Kings: Vote Early’ looked like in Clairemont, Kearny Mesa, and Linda Vista:
The ‘No Kings: Vote Early Climate Canvassing in Clairemont’ Event
Organized by the grassroots climate change advocacy and climate justice nonprofit San Diego 350, the ‘No Kings Climate Canvassing in Clairemont’ event was held at the North Clairemont Park at 4421 Bannock Ave. The event began at nine in the morning with a group of about 10 people ranging from high school students to more senior residents. San Diego 350 staff kicked the event off with an explanation of how the morning would unfold. In groups of 2 or more, volunteers would be assigned turf in the neighborhoods adjacent to the park to go door-to-door, asking people to “Vote Early. Vote Secure.”
Volunteers were given leaflets to distribute, reading “The time is NOW to stand up for Democracy! Overcome Trump’s threats to corrupt the election and tamper with the US Post Office. Cast a secure vote by voting early using a ballot drop box or going in-person”. Also on the leaflets were important dates to remember, including the November 3rd voting deadline, along with more information about San Diego 350.
On the opposite side of the literature were their recommendations on what propositions to vote for and against on the upcoming ballot. Three propositions they prioritized asking people to vote ‘NO’ on were State propositions 45, 43, and 39. The literature states Prop 45 is a “big business effort to weaken environmental protections and community-involved decision making”, Prop 43 “creates drastic hurdles to funding transit, housing, and infrastructure”, and Prop 39 “creates unnecessary barriers to voting by requiring government ID, potentially disenfranchising underserved communities”.
Leaflets were handed to people at their door, in their yard, and left under doormats for them to find later. According to San Diego 350, by the end of the event they had visited over 250 households and got more than 40 people to agree to vote, who were not already planning on doing so. When asked what “No Kings: Vote Early” was all about, volunteer coordinator Emma Rodriguez said:
“I think nationally we’re all really concerned about the election, security of elections, democracy, and “No Kings: Vote Early Day” is really about both spreading the importance of voting, but also the joy of it and the joy of participating in a democracy. So that’s what we’re up to, and I hope it was fun.”
“No Kings: Vote Early” CA-163 and Mesa College Drive
Elsewhere in the Clairemont/ Kearny Mesa/ Linda Vista area, starting around 10 in the morning, roughly two dozen demonstrators gathered on the overpass where the CA-163 Highway intersects with Mesa College Drive. Hanging on the fence behind demonstrators were various political signs, American flags, and a large banner encouraging passersby to “BE A VOTER”. Further down the road, on the sidewalk in front of the Mesa Mart convenience store, a few tables were set up offering voting information and directing people to join the crowd up at the overpass.
The organizer of the event, Cheryl Miller, says she was inspired to take action by her mother, who recently passed away. Miller called her mother a ‘life-long fighter’ for social justice. Upon hearing of the “No Kings: Vote Early” events taking place, she said it sounded like something her mother would be at and volunteered to host her own. Initially, she expected just a few friends to show up; however, she was excited and pleased with the event’s turnout. Cars honked in support of the crowd, who cheered and waved their signs back in response. One attendee described every honk as if it were a “dopamine rush” that fueled the effort.
When asked about the importance of casting your ballot early, Clairemont resident Suzanne Harper said:
“There’s a lot of shenanigans, you know the early voting, we always do ours by mail, and I drop it off at the post office and I feel like early is so much better because I feel like there’s gonna be some shenanigans that are gonna happen”. To those who have yet to, Suzanne says to make sure you are registered to vote, make sure to check out the propositions, vote in alignment with your views, and to definitely make your voice heard “cause if we don’t do it, somebody’s gonna do it for us”.
While the deadline to register to vote may have just passed, according to the California Secretary of State, same-day registration to “conditionally register” and cast a provisional ballot will be available from October 20th through Election Day on November 3rd.
