Michigan community leaders are encouraging voters to select “uncommitted” in the Michigan primary elections, hoping to send a message to President Biden before November that they’re unhappy with U.S. support for Israel in the conflict with Gaza.

“The main push is Joe Biden’s stance on the conflict taking place between Israel and Gaza,” said Hussein Dabajeh, one of the organizers of the “Vote Uncommitted” movement.

“That’s not who we voted into office. That’s not who we helped elect,”Dabajeh said. “That’s not who over 150,000 Arab and Muslim voters in the state of Michigan voted for.”

In Michigan, Democratic and Republican presidential primary ballots alike offer voters the choice of selecting a candidate or “uncommitted.” A vote of “uncommitted,” according to the Michigan secretary of state, “indicates the voter is exercising a vote for that political party, but is not committed to any of the candidates listed on the ballot.” And, if there are enough “uncommitted” votes, the party “may send delegates to the national nominating convention who are not committed to a specific candidate.”

February 27, 2024, Michigan’s presidential primary election ballot in Arabic

Michigan is a critical swing state, one that Biden won by a thin margin of about 154,000 votes in 2020, but that Hillary Clinton lost in 2016 to Donald Trump, who appears likely to be the GOP presidential nominee this year. It’s home to a large community of Arab and Muslim Americans, 146,000 of whom voted for Biden in 2020, and many of whom disagree with Biden’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

Organizers think that if the Vote Uncommitted movement in Michigan can convince tens of thousands of voters to vote uncommitted, it may help force Biden to reassess his backing of Israel in its war with Hamas. The Israeli military has cut off the flow of supplies and aid to civilians in Gaza as it continues to carry out military operations. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza says that more than 25,000 have been killed in the Israeli war on Gaza.

Vote Uncommitted is encouraging voters unhappy with Biden’s stance on the Israeli war on Gaza to vote uncommitted, no matter their party affiliation or background. The campaign describes itself as a “multiracial and multifaith anti-war campaign” in Michigan.

February 27, 2024 presidential primary ballot

“This is not an endorsement of Trump or a desire to see him return to power,” the campaign states. “We are sending the warning sign to President Biden and the Democratic Party now in February, before it’s too late in November.”

The state’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, recently acknowledged on CBS News’ Face the Nation that there is “a lot of angst” around the Israeli war on Gaza and “a lot of personal pain.”

“These are legitimate and raw feelings that people have, and they’re entitled to their opinions,” Whitmer said.