Voters head to the polls today in several states for the U.S. presidential primaries, including New York, where a growing campaign is hoping that many people will submit blank ballots in the state’s Democratic presidential primary to protest Joe Biden’s continued support for Israel’s months-long assault on Gaza.

“Leave It Blank” is a statewide effort, backed by dozens of grassroots organizations, that is bringing the national “uncommitted” movement — aimed at pressuring Biden — to New York State. The campaign came together barely a month ago but has quickly gained momentum as dozens of organizers have phone banked, canvassed and shared information over social media. Unlike many other states, New York does not let primary voters choose an “uncommitted” vote or offer a write-in, so the Leave It Blank campaign has been urging voters to submit a blank ballot as a protest vote.

Today’s primary election comes as over 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza, with many thousands more feared dead under the rubble of the bombings, and with much of Gaza on the brink of famine. Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported last week that the Biden administration, despite voicing concern over Israel’s conduct of the war, has “quietly authorized the transfer of billions of dollars in bombs and fighter jets” to Israel.

“Through the Leave It Blank campaign we are sending a clear message to the Biden administration: New Yorkers refuse to be complicit in genocide,” Sumaya Awad, a Palestinian organizer with the Leave It Blank campaign and a member of New York City Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), told Truthout. She added that the blank ballots should be understood as urging Biden to “change course and support a permanent ceasefire and end U.S. funding for genocide or lose votes in the election.”

New York’s Leave It Blank campaign was inspired by the growing “uncommitted” protest vote movement that has spread across the U.S.

From Minnesota and Hawai’i to Colorado and North Carolina, voters have been selecting or writing in variants of “uncommitted” or “no preference” to register their opposition to President Joe Biden’s ongoing support for Israel’s war on Gaza. New York organizers cite the example of Michigan in particular, where a grassroots effort driven by Arab, Muslim and Palestinian voters in Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Hamtramck cast 13.2 percent of all Democratic ballots — over 100,000 votes — for “uncommitted.”

The New York State primary ballot does not have “uncommitted” or “write-in” options, but by urging voters to submit a blank ballot in the Democratic primary election, the Leave It Blank campaign is hoping to replicate the same kind of protest vote in the Empire State. A similar effort occurred in Georgia’s Democratic presidential primary.

In bringing this national movement to New York, a powerhouse state with a deep blue voter base, organizers are hoping to send a resounding message to Biden in one of the........

© Truthout