WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of protesters gathered on the National Mall on Friday to support voting rights and racial justice ahead of the midterm elections. This rally follows recent changes to voting laws and redistricting that civil rights groups have criticized as harmful to Black Americans.
The 2026 "Defend the Vote" March on Washington, organized by Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, commemorates the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 march. The event comes after the U.S. Supreme Court's April decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which reinterpreted key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, allowing Southern states to redraw congressional maps, potentially undermining equal representation for Black communities.
Sharpton stated in an interview, "We've been doing these marches for years, but this is probably the most important because this is the first year we are marching that the voting rights bill has been nullified by the Supreme Court."
This year's march, co-hosted by Sharpton's group and King's Drum Major Institute, features speakers including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
The event recalls King Jr.'s historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, which drew over 200,000 people to the Lincoln Memorial. King III remarked that the work of the Civil Rights movement is being further eroded following the Supreme Court's ruling.
Ray Turner, a 65-year-old retiree from Maryland, expressed his concerns about the Trump administration's impact on voting rights, stating, "The lies about the 2020 election being stolen continue to be sounded, even though they've been disproved."
Bill Gruen, a 75-year-old former U.S. history teacher, emphasized the importance of focusing on voting rights and critiquing the Trump administration's policies.
Sharpton noted that the Trump administration's immigration policies and cuts to social programs are issues uniting diverse march attendees. He highlighted the implications of redistricting efforts by Republican-led states, which could reduce the number of Black lawmakers in Congress.
Rep. Cleo Fields, D-La., commented on the Supreme Court's decision that affected his district, stating, "They told hundreds of thousands of Black families from Baton Rouge up through the Delta that their voice could be taken away at any moment."
Fields has decided not to seek reelection to Congress and is instead pursuing a seat in the state Senate. Rep. Shomari Figures, an Alabama Democrat, remarked that the march represents a continuation of the original voting rights struggle.
Ahead of the rally, organizations involved filed new claims in their federal lawsuit against President Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting. The Supreme Court recently allowed for potential implementation of this order, although its full impact before the midterms remains uncertain.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries expressed optimism about Democrats' chances in the upcoming elections, stating, "We only have to flip about five or six seats, and that's really what we're going to do. It is a call to action."