Hundreds of people took to the streets in Washington DC on Friday to defend voting rights, protesting against electoral boundary changes and proposed restrictions on postal voting backed by US President Donald Trump.
The demonstration, held under the banner 'Defend the Vote,' focused on what organisers see as a growing erosion of civil rights across the United States.
Civil rights activist Al Sharpton said the right to vote, “the very foundation of our power,” was being steadily weakened in state after state.
In April, the US Supreme Court weakened the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. In the wake of that ruling, several Republican-led states moved to redraw electoral districts in ways critics say reduce the influence of Black voters.
Trump has also pushed for tighter rules on voting by post. He has claimed, without evidence, that postal voting encourages fraud and was one of the main reasons for his defeat by Joe Biden in 2020.
The rally on the National Mall took place on the 63rd anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s iconic 'I Have a Dream' speech.
