Indivisible Blair County, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Blair County to hold rally encouraging voting

Event aims to encourage residents to vote in midterms

Indivisible Blair County and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Blair County will hold a rally 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, in Heritage Plaza to encourage people to vote in the upcoming midterms.

The event will be part of the national Indivisible No Kings IV, but the national organization has designated a different date, according to local Indivisible President Carol Taylor.

The local event will be on Sunday because there was another event scheduled for the plaza on the date designated by the national organization, and more importantly, because holding the local event Sunday will ensure there is plenty of time for attendees to register to vote by Pennsylvania's Oct. 19 deadline, Taylor said.

In contrast to previous No Kings events here, the one Sunday will not be a protest and will not include a march, Taylor said.

"It will be more a rally and a community gathering," she said.

The organizers are calling it Rock the Vote, she said.

There will be live music and food, and things will be "family friendly," she said.

The event will be "uplifting and informative," she said. "Coming together in a positive way is what is needed at this moment. It will be a celebration of our democracy at a time we all need that."

American democracy is currently "at risk," and many people are dissatisfied with the way things are going, Taylor said.

"(So) if you want change, vote for it," Taylor said. "Disillusionment and detachment is our enemy."

Having the event on a different day than the nationally designated date of Oct. 17 will enable people in the area to attend both the local gathering and another -- perhaps more protest-oriented -- No Kings rally in the region, Taylor said.

Republican thoughts

"The First Amendment is wonderful," said Blair County Republican Committee Chairman Matt Zupon, when asked to comment on the Indivisible rally plans.

The rally itself "is proof we don't have a king," Zupon added.

His committee is also pushing for people to vote -- "working tirelessly through the summer, energizing the base, knocking on doors, (making) calls, 'tabling' at events" and reaching out through social media and texting, Zupon said.

In the same spirit as the Indivisible rallies, President Donald Trump is "barnstorming the country" to encourage people to vote, he said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.