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The message that rang out across Nashville, Tennessee and more than 3,000 other U.S. cities and towns on Oct. 17 is clear: Vote.

Vote early to make sure your ballot is counted.

Vote early so the midterm elections cannot be manipulated or stolen.

Vote early to save democracy.

At Red Caboose Park in the community of Bellevue, 10 miles south of downtown Nashville, demonstrators with signs and some in costume lined Highway 70 South.

Music was a unifying background to the urgent nature of the gathering.

Paul Worley said he was at the demonstration to "save our country from collapse and from destruction."

Derek Jones serves on the executive committee of the Davidson County Democratic Party. He said," People are fired up to vote and cast their vote early. Should there be any shenanigans, they've already got their vote in and it's in the system.

Jones was helping with parking at the community park and carried a sign that said, "What would Dolly do? Vote."

Across town at Casa Azafran Community Center demonstrators held signs along busy Nolensville Road.

William Sisson, 31, said the important thing on the ballot for him is the vote for governor because, "I'm not a fan of "Marsha Blackburn."

Republican Marsha Blackburn is competing for the governor's seat against Democrat Jerri Green.

Becky Dan, with Nashville Indivisible, said she is most concerned about our country's democracy.

"I can see it going toward a dictatorship,'" said Dan.

Kathy Austin, also with Nashville Indivisible, said "We're not really a red state. We're a nonvoting state."

She came to Casa Azafran to vote and to encourage others to cast their ballots in a state that has a traditionally low voter turnout.

She said voters and lawyers are preparing in case there are any threats to the integrity of the midterm elections.

Austin said, "There are no shenanigans Trump will not employ if he has the ability to do so."

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About 150 protestors stood up for democracy in front of the Justice Center in Hopkinsville, Kentucky as part of the third nationwide ‘No Kings’ protest on March 28.

One Hopkinsville protestor brought along recorded music appropriate for the day, blaring out the lyrics, "Get up, stand up for your rights," by the Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley & the Wailers.

The March 28 protests drew an estimated eight million people to more than 3,000 locations in cities and towns across America.

Demonstrators oppose an increasing list of actions by the Trump administration. Issues include the war with Iran launched by President Donald Trump without Congressional approval, ICE raids that have targeted immigrants often without due process, the killing of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti at demonstrations in Minneapolis and the erosion of the balance of power among the branches of government.

I’m Rhonda Miller. I talked with demonstrators in Hopkinsville, a town of 30,000 in southwestern Kentucky about 12 miles north of the Tennessee border. Hopkinsville is the center of an agricultural and industrial region near the sprawling Fort Campbell Army base.

The protestors included U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps veterans, mental health professionals, retail workers and many retired people who said they're concerned about the increasing threats to democracy previously unimaginable in America.

Hopkinsville protestors ranged in age from their 20s to their 70s, some who said they first began protesting during the Vietnam war.

This is what democracy sounds like when Americans stand up to save their country. I’m Rhonda Miller in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

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Stark black signs with white letters are lined up along a busy intersection in Nashville, Tennessee. The signs blare out a warning: American democracy is in danger.

The silent protest called "Signs of Fascism" is to get Americans to pay attention to disturbing actions of the federal government.

I'm Rhonda Miller. On a windy Friday the 13th, that's March 13th, I talked with the protestors and read some of the signs.

"Using military and secret police on civilians."

"Accusing others of crimes you commit."

"Using fear and coercion to gain power."

"Replacing reality with lies and conspiracy theories."

Eric Lewis is one of the organizers of "Signs of Fascism." He's part of Nashville Indivisible's Green Collective.

Lewis understands that many people are not paying attention to America's slide toward fascism. That's why the protest happens at different places around the region.

For Lewis, taking an active part in protecting democracy began when he was six years old and lived in Chicago. He went with his mother to protests about the Vietnam War and civil rights.

Others in the group said they're out to help protect democracy, or because they're concerned about the lack of oversight by the Supreme Court, or because there are many actions by the current administration that threaten American freedoms.

Organizer Eric Lewis held a sign about the Nashville "No Kings Day" demonstration on March 28. It will be part of "No Kings Day" protests to be held in hundreds of cities across America.

I'm Rhonda Miller in Nashville, Tennessee.

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