"Uncommitted" takes nearly 15% of the vote in yesterday's Democratic Primary

"...nearly 30% of voters in Providence voted uncommitted..."

Vote Uncommitted RI Coalition organizers are celebrating as the numbers exceeded all expectations, with uncommitted votes more than double the number of prior elections, and nearly 15% of voters choosing to cast an uncommitted ballot. The push to vote uncommitted in Rhode Island was an 11th-hour effort to add Rhode Island’s voice to other states nationwide, demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza and politicians who will listen to the values of their voters. The Coalition came together fewer than 10 days before primary day and was operating on an entirely volunteer, grassroots basis, with whatever small-dollar donations those volunteers could pull together.

See: Coalition asks Rhode Islanders to vote “uncommitted” and send Biden a message

This year nearly 30% of voters in Providence voted uncommitted, whereas only 6% did the last time there was a Democratic incumbent in a primary in 2012. Despite the limited means of Vote Uncommitted RI, enthusiasm for the uncommitted vote has been clear across so many constituencies, bringing together labor organizers, progressive organizations, Jewish community organizers, Muslim voters, campus activists, Arab community members, and young people of conscience. Many participants had never been involved in political organizing or mobilization before but felt moved to demand that the Biden Administration and Congressional leaders stop financing, supplying, and politically supporting civilian destruction in Gaza. Volunteers made over 12,000 voter contacts by phone and text, distributed flyers at houses of worship, throughout neighborhoods, and at rallies. They came out to polling locations to support an “Uncommitted” vote on election day. 

“This was a last-minute campaign, but there has been an incredibly positive response from constituents across Rhode Island, and the beginning of an important conversation about what voters value,” said Danya Reda, Rhode Island DSA member and organizer with Vote Uncommitted RI. Both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party are offering us more of the same war policies, funds for weapons manufacturers, and crumbling bridges for the rest of us. We demand a different choice. That’s why we’re voting for ‘Uncommitted.’”

“There is so much anger in Rhode Island that our President and our federal delegation are actively supplying a genocide, and refuse to listen to the overwhelming majority of Democrats who have demanded a ceasefire for months,” said Alex Jacques, a participant in Rhode Island Phone Calls for Palestine. “There are so many people involved who are new to political organizing. For months now, Rhode Islanders with the group Rhode Island Phone Calls for Palestine have been making over 1,000 calls a day to Rhode Island’s federal delegation demanding a ceasefire and the rebuilding of life in Gaza. The movement is not running out of steam, it’s continuing to grow and get stronger.”

“As the descendants of Nakba survivors in 1948, whose families have been displaced for multiple generations by Israeli attacks on civilian areas, we are appalled that President Biden has continued to fund and provide political cover for the genocide of the Palestinian people,” said Dany Khalife, a first-generation immigrant to Providence, Rhode Island. “We are calling on him to listen to the international community in demanding a permanent ceasefire and an end to illegal occupation of Palestinian land.”

“An uncommitted vote in a Democratic primary is not a vote for Donald Trump, it is a vote to encourage President Biden to significantly change his unconditional support of a genocide that is being funded with our tax dollars,” said Providence City Councilmember Miguel Sanchez.

“The time for hollow words is over. We want to see changes in policy, an end to munitions transfers, and an end to billions of dollars for fighter jets, bombs, and bullets,” said Naoko Shibusawa, a local progressive organizer. “Our movement is asking for an end to the war to allow diplomacy to achieve security and freedom for all the Palestinian and Israeli people. We believe the safety and security of Israelis and Palestinians are unavoidably connected, and that freedom and safety for all can only be achieved through the freedom and self-determination of both peoples - Palestinians and Israelis. One can not be free and safe without the other.” 

“Rhode Islanders, along with a global movement, have been in the streets for weeks, calling our reps and senators every day, and they’ve been ignoring us. This is a wake-up call that the people don’t want to be complicit in genocide,” said Day Lee, a Rhode Island environmental justice advocate.  “Polls continue to show that two out of three Americans and 80% of Democrats support a ceasefire in Gaza. The outcome of Rhode Island’s primary, a solidly blue state with limited organizing on foreign policy or Palestine, should put the Democrats on watch that if policies don’t reflect people’s values and humanity, there will be consequences in November.”