'No Kings' Port Jefferson Station Rally On Oct. 17 To Focus On Voting Early

PORT JEFFERSON STATION, NY — 'No Kings' organizers are planning a 'get out the vote' rally in Port Jefferson Station on Oct. 17.

It will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Train Car Park on Rose Avenue, near the intersection of Route 112 and Nesconset Highway.

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The purpose behind the event is to encourage people to get out and vote early to ensure that their voice is heard in November's election.

Speakers will include former 1st Congressional District candidate and Stony Brook chemist, Nancy Goroff, Southold Town Democratic Committee Chairwoman Kathryn Casey Quigley, and rally organizer Shoshana Hershkowitz, and there will be music by Stuart Marcus.

Organizers are encouraging participants to wear costumes in keeping with the Halloween season and "joyfulness" of the event.

The rally is part of a set of nationwide actions being organized by the Indivisible Project in its ongoing 'No Kings' campaign. Past rallies at the location have attracted thousands of participants.

Rally organizer Christina Henderson said that so far, there are a few hundred people signed up to attend.

"But usually, the few days before, the number doubles or triples," she said. "So I would say the first one was around 2,200. I would figure a couple of thousand."

The rally will have "a strong message" about voting early and why it's important, and a lot of information will be available on the dates and locations of where residents can vote early, and where they can check their voter registration, according to Henderson.

Recently, she was reminded about the importance of voting early when she was in a very bad car crash early in the morning.

"It was a whole situation," she said. "Had that happened on Election Day, I would not have been able to get to the polls. Yeah, you know, and life happens."

As for next week's rally, Henderson said it's important that residents know it will be peaceful, and no violence or weapons will be tolerated.

"We have trained safety leads or peacekeepers, as we call them, to keep people out of the streets and to make sure everybody has a safe environment to utilize their First Amendment right to free speech," she said. "I want to encourage everybody to make a plan to vote early."

In addition to the rally, Indivisible and 'No Kings' will also be taking measures to make sure that the votes are counted and that the election "is not stolen," Henderson said.

They will be encouraging residents to be nonpartisan poll monitors and training them in what to do if, come January, there is a refusal to seat elected officials should Democrats win new seats, as was the case when Speaker Mike Johnson refused to seat Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva for seven weeks after her special election, she said.

"We do anticipate that yes, we could win, but they may not recognize the will of the people," she said, adding, "In which case, we're preparing because we will not go down without a fight."

"People's votes will be counted; they will be heard, and it is the responsibility of those in power to have a peaceful transfer of power," she said.