Vladimir A. Kleyman '02 said he came out for the rally for similar reasons.

"We as a country need to be more careful in how we conduct elections," he said. "I think the will of the people needs to be expressed through voting and shouldn't be tangled through bureaucratic obstructions."

Ultimately, Kleyman said, there is a need to reform the electoral system so that there can't be a candidate that wins the presidency without winning the popular vote--as would occur if Texas Gov. George W. Bush wins the election.

The time and location of the protest unintentionally coincided with Boston's annual Veteran's Day parade.

Protesters remained silent while the parade passed by. Following the parade, after an hour of protesting by the State House, the group circled Boston Common for 15 minutes, then proceeded to walk to Copley Square, holding signs and chanting.

According to www.countercoup.org, 84 cities were to have hosted similar protests Saturday, and all intend to have another protest next Saturday.

The nationwide protests were organized in three days completely via the Internet, Kohli said.

"Because of the decentralized planning, we're using the Internet as a new means of organizing," he said.