Speech delivered by Joanne Schultz on behalf of the League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo County at the No Kings 3 rally in San Luis Obispo on March 28, 2026.
Good morning San Luis Obispo! Today I’m proud to represent the League of Women Voters of SLO County. The League is a strong supporter of No Kings because we share the same goal – to save our democracy from authoritarianism.
Look, we all know it. We’re facing a constitutional crisis challenging the founding institutions and values of our republican democracy. We have an administration in Washington based not on sound policies and deliberative decision making but on the uninformed and arrogant whims of one would-be king. We have a government that seeks war, vengeance, division, and cruelty. Executive overreach, antipathy to science, militarized immigration enforcement, and rank corruption at the highest level are now the order of the day.
So what can we do? We can’t be complacent or fatalistic. We must join in peaceful public protest, sign petitions, lobby our elected officials, support organizations fighting for justice and our constitutional rights. Do everything we can to turn the tide. As civil rights leader John Lewis famously said, we must make “good trouble.”
And most importantly, we must vote. For more than 100 years, the League of Women Voters has fought for the right to vote and for equal rights for women and all marginalized groups. We have fought for free elections and fair representation – and friends, we have come too far to turn back now. So, now more than ever, we must vote.
Because our vote is our voice and our power. That’s why the current administration is trying to stifle the vote through measures like the so-called SAVE America Act and the Make Elections Great Again Act. These bills are not about election security. They’re about restricting access to the ballot and deciding who gets to participate in our democracy by using false claims of voter fraud.
That’s why the administration pushed certain states to redraw their voting districts mid-cycle. The intention of this mid-cycle redistricting is to provide an advantage to one party and dilute the votes of the other party. They fear the power of the vote, they fear the power of you voters.
That’s why the FBI is raiding elections offices and seizing records in Georgia and Arizona. The aim is to spread misinformation about elections in America, claiming fraud when numerous investigations and court cases have proven that such claims are lies. The truth is American elections are secure and safe, run by public servants dedicated to free and fair elections.
So we should all be alarmed by the President’s call to nationalize elections. This is an effort erode trust, normalize lies, and intimidate voters and election officials. This is not just political theater. It’s a direct threat to the very fiber of our democracy.
So it’s imperative we use the power of our vote, and support people and causes that make our country stronger. Make good trouble! Support our democracy by working at the polls or serving as a poll watcher. Register people to vote, working with the League or another civic organization. Make sure your family and friends are registered and have a plan to vote. Remind your neighbors and acquaintances that their vote is important and that the power it represents should not be squandered.
The time will come when we’ll move past this destruction and chaos. The time will come when we can reclaim our values and rebuild our institutions. The time will come when America will once again be a beacon of freedom for the world. Use the power of your vote and together - let’s make that time now!