How Wisconsin advocates hope to use ‘uncommitted’ votes to pressure Biden

Wisconsin’s April 2 primary will be latest forum for a movement hoping to force Biden to change his stance on Israel’s war in Gaza. The idea is to forego casting a ballot for Biden, in favour of voting for options like “uncommitted” — or, in Wisconsin’s case, “uninstructed”. Approximately 13 percent of the votes cast were for “uncommitted”, far outpacing the size of Michigan’s Arab American community. Advocates say Michigan’s 101,000 “uncommitted” voters underscored solidarity across several demographics in the state, notably young people and progressives. “I’m really proud that I can use the programme that I built in 2020 to win Wisconsin to hold Joe Biden accountable and to make our demands clear.” On Tuesday, when asked about the Wisconsin protest effort by the Milwaukee-based radio station WTMJ, Biden campaign co-chair Mitch Landrieu described it as an expression of free speech: “I think President Biden thinks that everybody ought to, you know, exercise their First Amendment right.” He then pivoted to the November general election.