Poll: More than 4 in 10 voters support 'No Kings' movement amid high, early interest in the next election

Voters are enthusiastic about elections right now — to the point that some wanted to know Tuesday why polling places across Kentucky, which did not have elections, were closed.“You cannot vote today in Kentucky for the mayor of New York City or the Governor of Virginia,” Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams wrote on X. “Sorry.”Tuesday’s election results in Virginia, New Jersey, New York City and beyond also demonstrated high interest in elections at the moment, with strong turnout and, ultimately, sizable wins for Democrats in statewide and local campaigns that had become referendums on President Donald Trump, at least in part

Voters are enthusiastic about elections right now — to the point that some wanted to know Tuesday why polling places across Kentucky, which did not have elections, were closed.

“You cannot vote today in Kentucky for the mayor of New York City or the Governor of Virginia,” Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams wrote on X. “Sorry.”

Tuesday’s election results in Virginia, New Jersey, New York City and beyond also demonstrated high interest in elections at the moment, with strong turnout and, ultimately, sizable wins for Democrats in statewide and local campaigns that had become referendums on President Donald Trump, at least in part.

Two findings from the latest national NBC News poll, which shows Trump’s approval rating down from March, help explain not only Tuesday’s results but how a fired-up Democratic Party base is engaging with politics right now. The large “No Kings” protest movement has mobilized those strongly opposed to Trump, and interest in the 2026 election is already at a historically high point, according to the poll.

More than 4 in 10 registered voters (43%) say they support No Kings, a larger share than some past political protest movements measured by NBC News polling, and about the same size as the Black Lives Matter movement was in April 2023.