Uncommitted voting campaign targets President Biden over support for Israel in war in Gaza

An electoral strategy by cease-fire activists protesting President Joe Biden's support for Israel amid its deadly counterattacks in Gaza has garnered interest in a part of the presidential primary ballot many voters' eyes may typically glaze over: the "uncommitted" option.

A last-minute campaign launched weeks ahead of Tuesday's primary election in Michigan calls on voters to withhold their support for Biden in the Democratic presidential primary and instead fill in the "uncommitted" bubble. The Listen to Michigan campaign hopes enough uncommitted votes will persuade Biden to demand a cease-fire.

"Having the option to vote uncommitted gives us a strong unifying vehicle to show our discontent and send a message to Biden that we need a permanent cease-fire," said Listen to Michigan campaign manager Layla Elabed, whose sister U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, has backed the effort.

After the Listen to Michigan campaign kicked off a few weeks ago, the progressive political organizing group Our Revolution also began calling on voters in Michigan to vote "uncommitted." Both efforts hope to demonstrate that Biden has fragile electoral prospects in Michigan if he doesn't change his administration's handling of the war.

Last week marked the third time the U.S. vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. The next day the U.S. defended Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. After the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that killed about 1,200 people in Israel according to the Israeli government, Biden expressed unequivocal support for the U.S. ally as it fought back with deadly airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. As the Palestinian death toll mounted — now standing at more than 29,000 according to the Gaza Health Ministry — and Biden has faced increasing pressure from some Democrats, the president has shifted his tone somewhat, calling Israeli military actions "over the top."

"The problem is, it's rhetoric and it's not action," Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, said of Biden's response. "The rhetorical shift is not enough."

What does it mean to vote uncommitted?

Each party's ballot for the presidential primary lists candidates seeking their party's nomination for the presidency along with an option to vote "uncommitted." Michigan is among the states with an election law that automatically requires placing that option on the ballot. When voters cast an "uncommitted" vote, their votes are tallied and reported out just like election results for candidates.

"When a voter selects 'uncommitted' this implies that they are exercising a 'party vote' but are not committed to any of the candidates listed on the ballot," the Michigan Department of State writes on its website.

But for organizers of the Listen to Michigan and Our Revolution campaigns, voting "uncommitted" is instead a way those advocating for a cease-fire can protest Biden's handling of the war. They've held phone banks and voter canvassing drives leading up to Tuesday's primary.

"We feel that voters in Michigan know that to vote uncommitted is to vote for cease-fire, to vote against war," said Listen to Michigan political strategist Abbas Alawieh. "And so now, every single vote that we get on Tuesday for uncommitted, we will view as a victory in and of itself as a victory in the direction of stopping the funding of the mass killing of Palestinians."

Organizers and some supporters of the "uncommitted" campaign for the Democratic primary argue the push for Biden to embrace calls for a cease-fire could make him a more attractive candidate to voters heading into the fall. An EPIC-MRA survey of 600 active and likely Michigan voters conducted Feb. 13-18 found 53% of respondents − including 74% of self-described Democrats − said Israel should declare a cease-fire with Hamas to negotiate the release of hostages and provide humanitarian aid to Gaza rather than continue with the war.

"This is a catastrophe in Gaza," said former U.S. Rep. Andy Levin, D-Bloomfield Township, during an interview on MSNBC focused on his endorsement of the "uncommitted" push by Our Revolution. "I'm afraid if we don't change course that we can't win on Nov. 5, and that's why I'm pouring my energy into this because we cannot allow Donald Trump to be anywhere near the White House again."

Listen to Michigan leaders said their strategy only targets the primary election. "Our focus is not what happens in November," said Alawieh. "This campaign is laser-focused on getting our president to do the right thing and save lives."

Meanwhile, a separate push by those advocating for a cease-fire seeks to deny Biden a second term, The "Abandon Biden" campaign, has called on voters to do anything other than vote for Biden, including voting uncommitted, selecting another candidate or casting a write-in vote for "Free Palestine."

The Listen to Michigan and Our Revolution campaigns want voters to fill in the "uncommitted" bubble specifically on the Democratic primary ballot, not the Republican primary ballot. Unlike those efforts, "Abandon Biden" has not directed voters wishing to register a protest vote to participate specifically in Michigan's Democratic presidential primary.

How many people typically vote uncommitted in Michigan?

The last time Michigan saw a significant push for voters to vote "uncommitted" was 2008 when Barack Obama took his name off the primary ballot because that year's early primary date violated Democratic National Committee rules. Obama's withdrawal prompted some Democratic leaders to urge Obama supporters to vote "uncommitted." That year, 238,168 — or just over 40% — of participants in Michigan's 2008 presidential primary voted "uncommitted." It was an unusually high share of voters.

For comparison, when Obama ran again in 2012 — the last time a Democratic presidential incumbent sought re-election — just 20,833 — or nearly 11 percent of voters in the Democratic presidential primary voted "uncommitted." In 2016, less than 2% of voters in each party's primary voted "uncommitted," and in 2020, just over one percent of voters in the Democratic primary voted "uncommitted" while about 4% of Republican voters did the same in their party's contest.

Elabed said the Listen to Michigan campaign hopes to see 10,000 "uncommitted" votes in the Democratic presidential primary results. Geevarghese said Our Revolution aims for 10,000 to 20,000 "uncommitted" votes. The 2020 Democratic contest saw 19,106 "uncommitted" votes. While 10,000 "uncommitted" votes in the Democratic primary this year would be fewer than the "uncommitted" votes in 2020, it's possible the party's election Tuesday could see an increase in the share of "uncommitted" votes with lower turnout.

Alawieh noted the significance of 10,000 votes: it's the rough margin by which Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016 in Michigan, delivering the state to the Republican presidential candidate for the first time since 1988. It was the slimmest victory for Trump of any state he won.

Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan primary 2024: What an 'uncommitted' vote means