Thousands march in Washington to "Defend the Vote"

Thousands of protesters gathered in the US capital Washington for the

"Defend the Vote" march on Friday.

They called for the protection of voting rights and racial justice

ahead of the midterm elections.

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders said "We must never forget the extraordinary courage of the people who marched,

who organised, who went to jail, who faced dogs and fire hoses, who risked

their lives and in far too many cases gave their lives to secure a more just and

equitable America."

"Today we have a president who, along with the Supreme Court members

he appointed, is carrying out the most significant assault on voting

rights since segregation," said Sanders. 

Ahead of Friday, organisations filed new claims in their federal lawsuit

against President Donald Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting.

Time is running short to make any significant changes to voting

in the midterms, with the first mail ballots scheduled to be sent

out next week.