THE “uncommitted” movement, A group of pro-Palestinian, anti-war Democrats who led the campaign to vote in protest against President Biden during the primaries, declined to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the White House but also said they would not encourage their supporters to stay home or vote for third-party candidates.
In a statement released Thursday, the group of 30 delegates stressed that it wanted to prevent former President Donald Trump from winning, saying his agenda “includes plans to accelerate the massacres in Gaza while intensifying the repression of anti-war organizations.”
But they warned that votes for third-party candidates, such as Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who is unlikely to win the presidency, could “inadvertently ensure a Trump presidency given our country’s broken electoral system.” Stein has courted American Muslim voters who disagree with Harris’s position on Gaza.
Organizers pushed Harris to support an embargo on U.S. arms shipments to Israel, a longtime U.S. ally. They also called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 41,000 people have been killed in Israeli military strikes since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks across Israel. monthHarris said she and the Biden administration are working toward an agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the fighting.
The non-committed delegation held a night sit-in at the Democratic National Convention in August to protest the Absence of a Palestinian-American speaker. After the convention, they requested a meeting with Harris before September 15. Although organizers said they had been in contact with Harris’ campaign, their request for a meeting was not granted.
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In their statement Thursday, they encouraged their supporters to vote “against Trump” across the ballot. While the group expressed frustration with the lack of direct engagement with Harris, they said their decision was not a call for supporters not to vote at the top of the ballot.
“Even the leaders of our movement will vote differently,” said Abbas Alawieh, an unpledged delegate from Michigan. “Our direction is clear: Even though Vice President Harris has blocked us from supporting her campaign, we still very clearly recognize the need to oppose Donald Trump.”
“Voters are going to have to vote their conscience in some way, and we’ve put on the table what’s at stake if we don’t block Trump,” said Layla Elabed, the sister of Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib. Elabed said she has no plans to vote for Harris.
During a interview This week, in a meeting with the National Association of Black Journalists, Harris reiterated her support for a ceasefire, as well as her position that Israel must be able to “defend itself.” Pressed on whether she would change anything about sending U.S. weapons to Israel, Harris expressed support for a one-time pause in May on sending a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs, but did not say whether she would change U.S. policy in the future.
In response to the uncommitted movement’s decision, a Harris campaign spokesperson said the vice president “is committed to working to earn every vote.” In August, Harris’ campaign sent campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez to meet with Michigan’s Arab-American and Jewish-American communities.
“She will continue to work to end the war in Gaza so that Israel is safe, the hostages are freed, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination,” the campaign added.
The unpledged movement began in Michigan, a key swing state with a large Arab-American population. The number of Michigan primary voters who chose “unpledged” (101,623) was higher than Trump’s margin when he won the state in 2016, and close to Mr. Biden’s margin of victory in 2020 (154,181).
