Thousands take part in March on Washington to promote voting rights

Thousands of demonstrators have converged on the United States capital of Washington, DC, to warn of threats to voting rights ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Friday’s event marked the 63rd anniversary of the March on Washington, an historic 1963 protest that galvanised the US civil rights movement.

But this year’s march had a theme that gestured to the midterms: “Defend the vote.” Civil rights leaders spoke of troubling trends that they feared would erode the voting power of Black and minority citizens.

“We know in this fight we’re fighting powerful forces, but this is why we rally today,” said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, a civil rights organisation.

“This is why we seek to bring Americans together of goodwill from all races, from all sections of the country, to push back as forcefully as we can.”

Since taking office for a second term, President Donald Trump has undertaken efforts to restrict voting that critics fear will limit access for lower-income and minority voters.

That includes advocating for greater proof of citizenship before voting. But those standards would require access to documents like birth certificates or passports that may not be accessible to everyone.

Speakers at the march also denounced a Supreme Court decision in April to strike down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 , a landmark piece of civil rights legislation.