No Kings event in Grand Junction emphasizes early voting, nonpartisan participation

About 300 people came out for a No Kings rally Saturday in Grand Junction. Organized by Indivisible Grand Junction, the event attracted fewer than the thousands who’ve attended previous No Kings rallies in the city. But it was billed as a “nonpartisan voter participation, education and community connection event,” designed to bring out community members to cast their vote early. 

Attendees gathered for the “No Kings: Vote Early” rally at the Historic Lowell School, just east of downtown Grand Junction at noon where tables were set up with information, both pro and con, about the various state ballot measures. There was also singing, drumming and speeches by various people, including Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Bobbie Gross. Gross urged people to vote early whenever possible.

“Elections are run by your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors,” Gross said. “They take an oath to run fair and accurate elections. The worst thing we can do is lose confidence in our election process.”

By 2:45 p.m., members of the crowd began marching to the Mesa County elections office on the west side of downtown, to deposit their ballots for the November election into the drop box outside the office.

No Kings protests in Colorado meant to help protect the November election

“We wanted to do something a little different this time,” said Molly Heckman, of Indivisible Grand Junction. “One of the most important things is participating in democracy. One of the simplest ways people can do that is by voting” — thus the event was nonpartisan, she said.

Despite the nonpartisan billing, many attendees carried signs expressing their opinions about the Trump administration.

Grand Junction resident Rachel Cowan carried a sign saying her brother died 21 years ago while serving in the U.S. Army and that people should exercise their right to vote. She’s unhappy with the Trump administration. 

“I lost my job because of Trump,” she said. She worked in environmental remediation and restoration. “I’ve been coming to these protests for a while. This one is amazing because it’s focusing on voting.”