Rural Lewis County Indivisibles will hold another “No Kings” protest in opposition to efforts to repeal the recently passed Washington state income tax and speak out against actions taken by the Trump administration.
Protesters are also hoping to attract more voters in the Nov. 3 general election.
“No Kings 4: Vote Early Lewis County — National Day of Action” will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at George Washington Park in downtown Centralia, according to a news release from Rural Lewis County Indivisibles.
Organizers noted more than 58% of eligible Lewis County voters did not participate in the primary election on Aug. 4.
“Recently, the USPS Postmaster General caused mail postmarking timing to vary widely, often taking much longer than it used to by greatly decreasing the number of postmarking locations,” Rural Lewis County Indivisibles wrote in the news release. “For example, Lewis County mail is now postmarked in Tacoma. This makes early voting and using a ballot drop box very important.”
In the news release, the organization said Washington state has the second most regressive tax system in the country, noting that the poorest 20% of the population use 13% of their total income to pay taxes while the richest 1% only pays 4.1% of their income on taxes.
According to Rural Lewis County Indivisibles, “families can't afford gasoline, healthcare, food, and housing. Costs are pushing people to the brink, while we’re forced to pay for ballrooms, forever wars, concentration camps and illegal tariffs. Our WA State Legislature finally passed legislation, set to take effect 2029, to address this unfair tax system. However, an uber-rich hedge fund manager bankrolled an Initiative to try and block it before working families and small businesses begin to benefit from the relief it will provide.”
Rural Lewis County Indivisibles said in the release that the Nov. 3 election is very important for Washingtonians who are struggling to get by.
“A fight to improve tax fairness will be on the ballot,” the group wrote in the news release.
The Oct. 17 protest will include sign waving, local speakers, the Lewis County Singing Resistance, prize giveaways, face painting, games and a food truck.
“A major difference this time is that instead of a display contest we are focusing heavily on early voting,” the group wrote in the news release. “As part of this effort, if we have a significant number of folks ready to drop ballots, we will form a conga line to the nearby ballot box. We will of course be observing RCWs 29A.84.510 and 29A.40.170 regarding ballot drop boxes. Ballots will be mailed out to voters in Lewis County on Oct. 14th, but arrival time will vary.”
