Last Tuesday, over 100,000 Michiganders voted “Uncommitted” in their Democratic presidential primary. The Vote Uncommitted MN campaign, inspired by their work, is a statement to President Joe Biden that he needs to listen to our voices. We are local Minnesota elected officials standing with our communities in support of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of Israeli hostages, and an end to the United States’ unconditional financial support of Israeli hostilities. The press has misrepresented the objectives of Uncommitted MN. Here, in our own words, is a clear explanation of who this campaign is, how we came to be, and what voting uncommitted is about.
Voting uncommitted is an action to hold our president accountable—an action that is at the very heart of our democracy. It is a call for compassion, not for Democrats to abandon their voting plans in this election year—but for President Biden to not abandon the 80% of Democrats who support an immediate and lasting ceasefire. So far, over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, as Americans watch the toll of death and devastation rise every day. Voting uncommitted is a plea to President Biden to end the suffering of Palestinians.
You don’t have to be Palestinian, Middle Eastern, Jewish, or Muslim to care about this issue. All you have to care about is putting an end to this genocide and coming together to secure a better future for our nation and our world. Uncommitted voters include white, Black, Muslim, Indigenous, immigrant, and young people. Our communities made the difference in 2020, and are the key to President Biden’s re-election. Voting uncommitted is a demonstration of democratic power.
As Muslim and Middle Eastern local elected officials, we cannot separate our identities from our motivations for public service—nor can we compartmentalize them when going to the ballot box. Many Democrats understandably insist, though, that we should; and that our communities should look past the president’s approach to Gaza and see former President Donald Trump as the greater evil.
Voting uncommitted is a message that choosing between Muslim bans and the mass deaths of Muslim people in Palestine is a false choice.
We don’t question Trump’s crimes, nor the disastrous consequences his return to the White House would represent for all communities—not just ours. There is also no denying that under President Biden, we’ve seen an increase in hate crimes motivated by anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiment, coupled with an unprecedented Muslim and Arab death toll around the world. Voting uncommitted is a message that the president’s foreign policy is harming our constituents here at home, and we have a role in demanding better.
Each passing day risks a catastrophic regional war in the Middle East. Minnesota is home to some of our largest immigrant and refugee communities; our neighbors understand the devastation war poses better than anyone. Our families and communities experience the pain of loved ones lost under the status quo that Biden has largely supported. At a time when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a total disregard for growing civilian casualties in his war on Palestine, President Biden has failed to assert the value of human life. Voting uncommitted is a message that every life is precious and we don’t want more war.
We personally fought to defeat former President Trump in 2020 and for the DFL to recapture the Legislature in 2022. As we watch bombs funded with our tax dollars ravage children and families—and hear the heartbreaking stories here at home—we know we cannot afford inaction, either morally or financially. Voting uncommitted is a way to tell President Biden he must immediately take action to end this genocide.
When you elect leaders, you commit to navigating difficult decisions with them while holding them accountable and standing up for your communities. Our communities deserve better than the idea that “anyone is better than Trump”—we deserve real leadership that invites accountability. Voting uncommitted is a chance for Minnesotans to ask the president we fought for to change course, and recommit to all of us.
