GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Protestors have spent the last several months on the streets of Michigan demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.
They're now taking their fight to the ballot box asking democrats to vote uncommitted. They say it's a way to use their vote as their voice.
A campaign called "Listen to Michigan" wants democrats to skip over any candidate on the presidential primary ballot and bubble in the "uncommitted" choice.
"The uncommitted movement is truly a movement that is a protest vote where people are collectively standing together to say, shame on Biden and his administration, and how they are directly supporting the ongoing genocide in Gaza," said a lead organizer of the group, Lexis Zeidan.
It's an expression of frustration towards elected officials in government, specifically the Biden administration.
Protests over the war in Gaza have largely been dismissed as the US has continued to provide billions in aid to Israel.
Zeidan, a Palestinian Christian American, says they are not defeated by the inaction.
"They expect us to feel defeated," she added. "And what they don't realize is that they're actually inspiring a whole new generation of people that are seeing humanity within our neighbors we're seeing. We're inspired, and we're moved by the different ways in which we're trying to get our voices heard."
Michigan is home to the country's largest populations of Arab-Americans and Muslims. Organizers believe a lot of eyes will be on Michigan for its primary to see what kind of support Biden potentially loses over his administration's decisions overseas.
The presidential nomination process is an indirect election. While you may fill the bubble next to someone's name, you're actually selecting people to go to the national convention to make the official decision for you.
Voting uncommitted just takes that a step further, leaving the choice totally up to an uncommitted delegate if enough people vote that way.
"It is always a possibility that voters could say we don't want to make the decision," explained Director of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, Dr. Matt Grossmann. "We want to let the officials do that. And so that's why this has been the choice in the past."
That's not exactly happening here, as Dr. Grossmann says suggests there's not really a viable second choice.
"President Biden is sailing to renomination and there is not really an alternative out there," he said. "And so people are taking advantage of what's available to them to make a protest vote."
Remember, the democratic party jumped through hoops to get Michigan slated earlier in the primary process. Lawmakers adjourned the legislative session early to allow for a February 27th primary so the state could shine in its support for the president.
"So democrats went to all of this trouble," Dr. Grossmann continued. "And then probably the main story coming out of the Michigan contest is going to be about how many people voted uncommitted. And is it a sign that Biden is losing support?"
At least for now, that's the hope for Listen to Michigan.
Zeidan concluded, "We see this as kind of like a last effort, and all the things that we've tried to do over the last five months to get his administration to hear what we have to say."