Ingham County Activism Didn't Stop at the 'No Commitment' Vote

EAST LANSING – In Michigan’s presidential primary, more than 100,000 Democratic voters cast their “uncommitted” ballot for President Joe Biden, an action some Ingham County residents are following with increased activism in favor of a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.

In Ingham County, 13% of Democratic primary voters cast uncommitted ballots in February, consistent with the statewide trend.

“We didn’t end our campaign when our primaries ended in Michigan,” said Thasin Sardar of the Islamic Society of Greater Lansing.

Sardar said members of the movement continued to expand their efforts to other states. They called their friends and allies to urge them to vote for uncommitted or similar designations in their states. Other states reported that tens of thousands of voters chose “Uncommitted,” “No Preference” or “Uncommitted Delegate,” according to NPR.

Ingham County Activism Didn’t Stop at the ‘No Commitment’ Vote

Sardar said Michiganders are working hard with voters in other states to send uncommitted delegates to the Democratic Party convention in Chicago in August.

The uncommitted election campaign won two delegates in Michigan’s Democratic primary.

“We hope that in all the states, if we can send one or two delegates, we can send a message to the Democratic Party convention. A lot of people disapprove of Biden’s policies,” Sardar said.

Alissa Hakim, director of Michigan State University and organizer of MSU’s Hurriya Coalition, a group of 20 organizations trying to call attention to the rising Palestinian death toll, said she was happy to see the number of uncommitted votes in Ingham County.

The counties with the largest share of uncommitted votes in the Democratic primary were Wayne and Washtenaw, both with about 17 percent. Ingham was one of the few counties hovering around 13 percent, but had a lower uncommitted share than other counties in that group, including Kent and Mackinac.

Hakim is originally from Dearborn — where 55 percent of residents are Arab-American — but she will vote on campus this year.

“What we can do going forward is maintain the momentum we have,” she said.

She said Hurriya is trying to get more people involved and has had success working with MSU students and connecting with faculty, staff and local community members for phone banking.

Hakim said the goal was to continue to educate people and get them more involved, and said uncommitted votes did not mean they supported former President Donald Trump.

She said she will determine who to vote for in terms of third parties because she wants to avoid voting for Biden or Trump.

In April, Hurriya set up a solidarity camp in Gaza, joining other college campuses in the United States calling on their schools to divest from Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza. After three days, the coalition closed the camp, saying it was a short-term strike intended to amplify its demands for divestment.

Although their protest was suspended, MSU students supported University of Michigan students as they continued their protest in Ann Arbor. They previously clashed with the MSU Board of Trustees at a February board meeting, questioning a number of the university’s investments, including the payment of $236,000 in aid to the State of Israel.

Laura Sager, a volunteer in Lansing, said she strongly supports the campaign in Ingham County.

Sager, a Peace Education Center board member, coordinates the Coalition for a Free Palestine, which includes various organizations. She also supports Lansing for Palestine, which has requested a ceasefire resolution from the Lansing City Council. The resolution was approved on February 13, according to WKAR.

Lexis Zeidan, the lead organizer of Listen to Michigan and national spokesperson for the Uncommitted National Movement, said after the primary that the goal in Ingham County and elsewhere was contact with voters by phone and text and relational support with organizations.

She said the next phase would be organizing a national strategy for delegates and presenting their opposition to the war at the Democratic Party convention. They will undergo delegate training to ensure they are all on the same page regarding the pro-peace movement.

“Our focus and focus is the convention, and we haven’t discussed November yet,” she said.