Outside a polling place on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, a small group of people urged students entering the building to write “uncommitted” instead of casting a vote for President Joe Biden in the presidential primary race. They hope to send a message to Biden that they reject US support for Israel during the country’s war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians since an October 7 attack by Hamas.
“For too long, the Democratic Party has taken for granted that they will have the Muslim vote,” said Ryan, a student who is a registered independent and could not vote in Tuesday’s primary. Ryan declined to provide a last name for fear of retribution. “I don’t know if we have enough power to put someone in office, but I think it speaks volumes if we have enough power to remove someone from office.”
Uncommitted PA, a group formed to encourage Democratic Pennsylvania voters not to support Biden in the primary, has joined a movement in other states with more than 100,000 Democratic primary voters casting “uncommitted” ballots in Michigan.
The Pennsylvania group is calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and calling on the US to stop sending aid to Israel and to restore funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) . He hopes to organize at least 40,000 “uncommitted” write-in votes on Tuesday. Biden won the swing state by just over 80,000 votes in 2020.
Samah Elhajibrahim, a recent PhD graduate at Penn, voted “uncommitted” on Tuesday in the Democratic presidential primary as well as other down-ballot races where Democratic incumbents have not pushed for a ceasefire.
“Genocide is happening and we are part of it in the United States,” Elhajibrahim said. “These are our weapons. These are our taxes. We can’t just pretend it’s not on us. we got the power. We have agency and this is the time to do it.”
Elhajibrahim, who is Palestinian, said she has not yet decided whether she will support Biden in the November general election, when he faces Republican Donald Trump.
“The fact that this is our choice, and we call it democracy, is ridiculous,” he said. “We don’t have real options. …The only agenda the Democrats are putting forward is, ‘Oh, you want Trump?’ …It’s a scary fear. That’s all they do, and I’m tired of it. I have to vote according to my conscience. …If I vote for a Democrat again, it will very much send a message to them that they can keep doing what they’re doing.’
Ryan plans to vote independent or third party in the November general election.
He said, “I don’t think it could be any worse than actively continuing the slaughter of thousands and thousands of people.”
State Rep. Chris Rabb sat near the Uncommitted PA group Tuesday afternoon. He said that he came out to support the young people who were protesting. He declined to say whether he supported the specific demands of the uncommitted PA.
“This kind of nonviolent civil disobedience, direct action, organizing — that’s what makes our country better,” he said. “I don’t think we should support the State of Israel as long as they’re doing what they’re doing.”
” Read more:The Uncommitted: PA primary is another litmus test for Biden on handling the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza
