Gaza ceasefire protest vote gains traction in US on Super Tuesday

A protest vote against Joe Biden gained more traction around the country on Super Tuesday as voters in several states sought to send a message to the Democratic president to support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Grassroots groups organized quickly after a similar effort in Michigan last week far exceeded its goal of 10,000 votes for “uncommitted” brought in more than 100,000 votes, or 13% of the vote.

A smattering of Super Tuesday states – Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Tennessee – had an option on the Democratic ballot where voters could decide not to commit to a specific candidate. These options included “uncommitted”, “noncommitted delegate” and “no preference”.

In Minnesota, about 19% of voters chose “uncommitted”, far more than chose Dean Phillips, the congressman from that state who is challenging Biden in the primary. Massachusetts saw about 9% of votes go to a “no preference” options. In North Carolina, about 13% of voters picked “no preference”. Democratic protest votes were also recorded in Alabama (6% “uncommitted”), Iowa (4%) and Tennessee (8%).

Minnesota’s campaign was seen as the most likely to bring in more votes because the state has a large Muslim population, high voter turnout and a progressive left, all factors that could help it get more people to send a protest vote.

Organizers in Massachusetts, North Carolina and Colorado also worked to push voters toward uncommitted options after Michigan. In Massachusetts, volunteers spread the word over the past few days that voters there should choose “no preference” on their primary ballots. Colorado voters were urged by the Colorado Palestine Coalition to pick “noncommitted delegate” on their ballots, Colorado Public Radio reported.

“We join a national movement which has been galvanized by what has come out of Michigan and we’re asking people to use their ballot to tell Biden ‘we say no to genocide,’” Lara Jirmanus, one of the “no preference” organizers in Massachusetts, said, according to Mass Live.

The uncommitted campaign is moving nationally to push Biden on the ceasefire issue. This weekend, Kamala Harris called for an “immediate ceasefire” for six weeks. But organizers in the movement have called for a permanent ceasefire and seen temporary measures as a half-step to try to assuage the Democratic base.

The movement got a boost this weekend when the Democratic Socialists of America, the country’s largest socialist group, endorsed “uncommitted”.

“Until this administration ends its support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza and delivers a permanent, lasting ceasefire, Joe Biden will bear the responsibility for another Trump presidency,” the group wrote on X.

Biden allies and Democratic officials across the country have drawn attention instead to the eventual Trump-Biden matchup, saying the threat Trump poses to the country is too great for people to choose other options.

But Biden’s campaign acknowledged the movement, with campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt telling the New York Times on Tuesday that “the president hears the voters participating in the uncommitted campaigns. He shares their goal for an end to the violence and a just, lasting peace – and he’s working tirelessly to that end.”

The Minnesota uncommitted campaign had only about a week to put together an effort to sway voters. They didn’t have a set vote goal and instead saw any total as a way to force Biden to pay attention to the issue, a key liability among Democratic voters. They called and texted voters and showed up at mosques around the state to spread the word about the uncommitted option, explaining how it was a protest of Biden on his Israel stance.

Ruth Schultz, a Minneapolis voter, was inspired by Michigan’s uncommitted vote and started reaching out to people she organized within a group called MN Families for Palestine. She saw the vote as a way to show the Biden administration how many registered Democrats want a ceasefire, pressuring him to be accountable to that base of people.

She said she probably would not have voted in the Minnesota presidential primary if there wasn’t an uncommitted campaign. In November, it was a “given” that she would not vote for Trump, but she wants to see Biden move on a ceasefire.

“I want to see President Biden take a stronger stance for peace and how to get a ceasefire and to use all the tools at his disposal in order to do that,” she said. “I am watching that as a voter in the general election. I believe that there is the ability and time for him to be a stronger leader in this arena.”

After Super Tuesday, movement organizers say they are planning to share what they learn to help other states organize and keep the pressure up. Already, states such as Washington have been getting to work – there, the state’s largest labor union endorsed “uncommitted”, a major boost to the protest campaign.