A campaign is underway to get voters in next month’s Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary to mark their ballot as "uninstructed."
Organizers say it’s meant as a protest against President Joe Biden for continuing to provide military aid to Israel during its actions against Hamas and the civilian population in Gaza. And, organizers contend for Biden not doing enough to bring a lasting ceasefire in that region.
Halah Ahmad is a Palestinian-American who lives in Milwaukee, and is a spokesperson for the group Listen to Wisconsin.
Ahmed said state voters cannot tolerate any more fatalities and violence.
“It’s not an issue that we will ignore. As voters of conscience and pro-democracy and pro-peace voters, on April 2 and before April 2, we are going to vote 'uninstructed delegation,'" Ahmad told reporters at a Tuesday news conference outside Milwaukee City Hall. Tuesday was the first day of early voting for the April election.
Biden already has enough convention delegates to win the Democratic nomination for president. But backers of Vote Uninstructed say if they can get to 20,000 votes in the April 2 election, that will roughly equal Biden’s winning margin over Republican Donald Trump in Wisconsin four years ago and warn Biden those votes may not be there for him this November.
In a written statement to WUWM, a Biden campaign spokesperson said the president "shares the goal for an end to violence and a just, lasting peace in the Middle East." Also, that Biden is "working tirelessly toward that end.”
