If you came to Bucks County on Saturday to attend any of the “No Kings” protests, you might have seen some “No Kings, No Retention” signs on your drive. While you might think these signs were in support of stopping the number of authoritarian policies currently being enacted by the Trump Administration, that assumption would be incorrect.
The signs are paid for by Early Vote Action, a conservative Super PAC run by Scott Presler. According to Mother Jones, “Presler moved to Pennsylvania in 2024 to flip the crucial swing state for Trump.” During the 2024 election cycle, billionaire and former head of DOGE Elon Musk donated $1 million to Early Vote Action. Presler’s main goal is to register as many Republican voters as possible in swing states like PA and to win high profile elections like the New Jersey governor race.
The signs “No Kings, No Retention” refer to the PA Supreme Court retention election on Nov. 4. In PA, State Supreme Court Justices are elected to a 10 year term, then face a retention vote, simply a yes or no, if they should be allowed to continue to serve on the Court. While they don’t have term limits, Justices must retire at the end of the calendar year the year they reach the age of 75.
READ: The Truth about MAGA Activist Scott Presler
“Whomever created those signs that use Indivisible’s No Kings logo in conjunction with a message antithetical to our position on judicial retention is, cynically, just creating confusion,” said Indivisible Bucks County co-leader Kierstyn Zolfo.
That’s really not good for anyone, she said, noting she has seen MAGA social media posts where posters said they were going to vote yes for retention because “No Kings” told them to vote no.
“Purposely trying to cause confusion is one variety of voter suppression, and it is no surprise that the reactionary-right is falling back on one of their oldest strategies,” said Zolfo.
This year three Democratic Justices – Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht – are all seeking retention for the first time after winning their respective races in 2015. The Democrats currently hold a 5-2 majority in the court, so if all three are not retained then the Supreme Court would be split evenly between Republicans and Democrats. In the case that any of the Justices wouldn’t be retained, then Gov. Josh Shapiro would have to find a replacement until the 2027 elections. That replacement would also have to be voted in by the Republican majority state senate.
Presler, who could not be reached for comment, seems to be using the “No Kings” slogan against the justices. According to a Facebook post by Presler, he claims the Justices “Shut down small businesses, churches and schools during Covid.” The post also has the “No retention” slogan seen on the signs.
In reality, the Supreme Court Justices had nothing to do with any closures during COVID. The policy to close schools and nonessential businesses was done through order by then Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf. As for churches, they were never forced by anyone in the state government to close, although Gov. Wolf’s order “strongly discouraged gatherings.”
Voters in Pennsylvania from both sides of the political aisle find the signs put out by Presler to be misleading. One PA resident said about the signs, “It is one thing to try to convince voters of the validity of one’s position. It is something entirely different to try to trick fellow voters into voting against what they actually believe.”
READ: ‘Don’t Fall for It’: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Election Disinformation
Meanwhile, when Presler posted the sign on the Pennsylvania Republicans Facebook page, it was not universally loved.
“It is not clear who you are and aren’t supporting,” said one commenter.
Another commenter remarked, “Is this the best you could come up with? You have to have an explanation to go with it.”
