Published August 28, 2026
Thousands of demonstrators have gathered in the US capital, Washington, DC, to warn of threats to voting rights ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Friday’s event commemorated the 63rd anniversary of the March on Washington, the historic 1963 protest movement that galvanized the U.S. civil rights movement.
But this year’s march had a theme that hinted at the midterm elections: “Protect the Vote.” Civil rights leaders spoke of an alarming trend that they fear will erode the voting rights of Black and minority citizens.
“We know we’re fighting powerful forces in this fight, but that’s why we’re coming together today,” said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, a civil rights group.
“This is why we seek to unite Americans of goodwill from every race and from every region of the country to resist as strongly as possible.”
President Donald Trump has been working to restrict voting since taking office for his second term, but critics worry it will limit access for low-income and minority voters.
This includes advocating for stronger proof of citizenship before voting. However, these standards require access to documents that not everyone has access to, such as birth certificates and passports.
Speakers at the march also denounced the Supreme Court’s decision in April that struck down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark piece of civil rights law.
The law was designed to crack down on practices that disenfranchised black voters. For decades, it has prevented lawmakers from redrawing congressional districts based on race.
But in an April ruling, the court’s conservative majority argued that it was impossible to “separate race from politics.” As such, it declared that states could only abolish their congressional maps if there was evidence that they had “deliberately” limited opportunities for nonwhite voters through “serious interference.”
Critics argue that the new legal standards effectively legalize discrimination based on race for the purpose of drawing voting maps.
In response to the court’s ruling, many Republican-led states passed new congressional maps that favor Republicans, often splitting majority-black districts.
In his letter, the Rev. Al Sharpton, an organizer of Friday’s march, drew a line between the fight for voting rights during the civil rights era and the current situation.
“We’re all on the same page because the work is not done yet,” Sharpton said, referring to the site of the 1963 march. “The very foundation of our power, the right to vote, is being stripped away in state legislatures. When the right to vote weakens, so does every other right.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a leading progressive, also told the audience, “The dream of a more just and equitable society has never been under greater threat than now.” He condemned President Trump’s efforts to undermine voting rights.
“Today, the president and his Supreme Court appointees are targeting virtually every aspect of our electoral system, carrying out the most serious attack on voting rights since racial discrimination,” Sanders said.
