They’re committed to being ‘uncommitted’

Activists hope to bring protest vote to Connecticut

Riding the coattails of a sizeable protest vote in Michigan, pro-Palestinian organizers announced the launch of a campaign to encourage Connecticut Democrats to vote “uncommitted” on primary ballots this April to protest President Joe Biden’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza.

On the steps of Hartford Public Library on Wednesday, members of the Vote Uncommitted CT campaign gathered to “demand an immediate and permanent cease-fire in Gaza, an end to US military aid to Israel, and an end to the genocidal occupation of Palestine.”

The multicultural group of elected officials and community activists said that Biden must earn their votes in Connecticut’s April 2 primary and the November election through policy change.

“Uncommitted,” “Leave it blank” and other protest votes have emerged in several state primaries, inciting fear among some Biden allies who worry the protest could spill into the general election.

Abdul Osmanu, a member of Hamden Legislative Council and the campaign, said uncommitted voters are “more than just a fringe group, but a sizable segment of the Democratic electorate” who are “unsatisfied with our voices and concerns for humanity not being heard.”

“That is what the uncommitted campaign is about,” Osmanu said. “That is the spirit of it, sending a clear message that in our vote lies power, that our votes must be earned with actual concrete policy changes.”

Instead of funding Israel’s military operations in Gaza, speakers Wednesday said they want to see Biden and the Democratic party support affordable housing, education and other progressive initiatives.

They said they will not be swayed by arguments that a vote against Biden is a vote for former President Donald Trump.

“The Democratic Party expects our support because of who the alternative to the president is, but being the lesser of two evils is not the Democratic party that I signed up for,” New Britain Alderman Nathan Simpson said.