Voting rights protests: List of October events calling on Amazon, Target, and more to defend democracy against Trump

The May Day Strong coalition is organizing a series of voting rights protests across the United States to urge corporations, particularly those connected to President Donald Trump, to safeguard democracy ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. The coalition, which consists of labor and community organizers, launched similar actions last May 1, attracting thousands of protesters nationwide. They plan to stage demonstrations in various cities starting October 3, with additional nationwide actions on October 8.

The coalition is urging corporations, their CEOs, and local businesses to leverage their influence to defend free and democratic elections, given the Trump administration's escalating attacks on U.S. voters. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, the administration has targeted election officials, seized election records, tried to access state voter rolls, pardoned January 6 rioters, and supported election deniers within the government.

The group has sent letters to major tech companies and other corporations, requesting them to pledge to provide employees with voting rights information, publicly oppose efforts to prevent eligible voters from casting ballots, and oppose attempts to hinder vote counting or seat winners. This isn't the first time corporations have taken a stance against Trump's administration; in January, 60 company heads wrote a letter to the President urging de-escalation during the federal occupation of Minneapolis, and in Arizona, CEOs ended a state push to eliminate birthright citizenship after a year-long boycott in 2011.

Lauren Jacobs, executive director of PowerSwitch Action, stated that corporations profiting from workers' efforts and communities must stand against attempts to suppress voting rights. She emphasized that corporations will continue to remain silent unless faced with action that makes cowardice a bigger problem for them than speaking up.

The protests will take place in Culver City, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and other locations across the country from October 3 to 11, followed by a nationwide mass call for allies and Starbucks workers on October 8.