With just over two weeks until Election Day, the anti-MAGA “No Kings” protests returned to the Valley, and the largest, organized by LUCHA, had a twist this time.
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Instead of marching to the state Capitol, protesters paraded from Grant Park to the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center where protesters dropped off their ballots for early voting.
Organizers chose each location for a purpose. They chose the MCTEC for obvious ballot-related reasons, but the symbolism of that location took on added urgency after Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’s office received a mysterious white powder Thursday afternoon.
It was one of dozens of election offices and politicians nationwide that received the powder in nondescript envelopes last week. Fontes and Michael Moore, the chief information security officer with the Secretary of State’s Office, had anticipated that something like this might come along to disrupt elections and responded swiftly and efficiently to the bizarre incident.
“To whomever sent that package, you have failed,” Fontes told reporters Friday morning. “Our brave election workers are still at their posts. Our elections will proceed and on November 3, the people of Arizona, without threats, intimidation or fear, will decide the future of our state.”
Moore said they had prepared for this kind of hazardous materials attack as far back as 2024 and that’s why the response was so “smooth and rapid.”
“You caused basically no disruption,” Moore said, addressing the envelope’s sender in the same press conference.
But the powder mystery did nothing to dampen the spirits of the protesters at Grant Park. Organizers chose that site because it is an important site of Latino Heritage and culture. The park is the oldest Mexican-American barrio in Arizona and Phoenix, noted Mary Rose Wilcox, a former member of the Phoenix City Council and Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and the park’s “matriarch.”
“You have fourth generations who have come up in this area and we are proud to be proud Mexican-Americans,” Wilcox said in a speech to a cheering crowd of protesters. “We are proud because we live in a country where we will never, never be ruled by a king or a queen.”
The nine speeches delivered before the marchshared a theme: the importance of voting. Each speaker encouraged those gathered to make their voices heard not just by cheers but by casting a vote.
“This is your ticket to change the direction of this country,” Sen. RubenGallego said, holding up a green envelope high for the crowd to see. “This is your way to say ‘no’ to King Trump, no to corruption, no to the America they’re trying to make – because we want a better America.”
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At 10 a.m., behind a banner that read “No Kings,” the group marched to the ballot drop-off site. Rep. Yassamin Ansari led the charge and turned in her own ballot alongside hundreds. The group cheered, chanted and clapped as more and more deposited their green envelopes in the box. Some waved their hands in the air, others raised defiant fists, others raised American flags above the crowd.
Among the marchers was Amy Campbell. She wore a purple sash that read “Keep Marching” and several colorful political pins and stickers. She and her husband hadn’t missed any anti-Trump protests since his first term in 2016. Campbell and her husband took the speakers’ message to heart. They joined the huge crowd that turned in their ballots.
She said she drives from Mesa to Phoenix every year to make sure their early-voting ballots get to the right place safely.
This year, dropping off her ballot was even more of an adventure. She flew in from Houston, Texas, on Friday night and had to hustle to make sure she had her ballot filled out properly before dropping it off Saturday morning. As a native Arizonan, she felt it was important to be present for such a significant event.
“I just was hoping to see some other people show up with it, and to see so many that was just the most beautiful thing,” Campbell said, wiping away tears as she spoke. “I was dancing towards the ballot box and putting it in with so much pride and joy and hope that things will change.”
Plenty of music was there to dance to. At 9 a.m. Saturday morning, Mariachi and Cumbia music boomed, audible for blocks around. Mariachi Luna de Mexico played a lively live set, and massive speakers amplified “Baila esta Cumbia” by Selena and “Juana La Cubana” by Fito Olivares y La Pura Sabrosura.
Dozens danced in front of the stage, grabbing partners and swinging across the grass. One group even started a conga line through the crowd of a thousand people.
As a Latina herself, Campbell appreciated that the event was held in Grant Park to honor Latinos. She said she felt proud to attend.
“As soon as we’re walking up, there’s my Latino music that I know every word to,” Campbell said. “I was like ‘look, there’s people just randomly dancing.’ The dancing is amazing, so I’ve been dancing since I got here and I’m going to keep dancing.”
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