PHOTO: Activists are urging Democratic voters in New York to submit blank presidential primary ballots in protest of President Joe Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza. PHOTO: LEV RADIN/PACIFIC PRESS/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES

‘The state Board of Elections does not plan to include blank ballots in its unofficial election day results, which could undermine the protest.’

By REBECCA C. LEWIS | City&State New York

Some organizers in New York are trying to replicate the successes of the “uncommitted” campaigns from other early primary states in the Empire State to protest President Joe Biden’s continued support of Israel and call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Rather than urging Democrats to vote “uncommitted” over Biden, activists in New York have launched the “Leave it Blank” campaign, which asks Democratic primary voters to submit blank ballots instead of voting for Biden.

But according to a spokesperson for the state Board of Elections, the agency does not plan to include the number of blank ballots cast in its unofficial election night results, which could blunt the impact of the protest vote.

Pro-Palestinian activists in several key swing states across the country have used the Democratic presidential primary to call for an immediate ceasefire and protest the ongoing war in Gaza that has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians – including over 12,000 children, according to estimates from the Healthy Ministry in Gaza.

Although Biden is running without major opposition, voters in states like Michigan – where the national “uncommitted” movement began – chose the “uncommitted” option rather than cast a vote for the incumbent president.

Already, “uncommitted” has secured a handful of delegates who will attend the Democratic National Convention. 

New York’s presidential primary ballot will not include an “uncommitted” option, however.

That’s why organizers like Brittany Ramos DeBarros, a democratic socialist and former congressional candidate from Staten Island, have launched the Leave it Blank campaign, which urges Democrats to submit a blank ballot instead of casting a vote for Biden in the state’s April 2 Democratic presidential primary.

“Voting blank is actually a pretty common political option around the world,” DeBarros told City & State.

“So we see this as an opportunity to highlight the ways that as we fight for a ceasefire abroad, we also need to be fighting for our democracy here in the United States.” 

However, a spokesperson for the state Board of Elections told City & State that the agency does not report blank ballots in the unofficial results for presidential primary races, only in the certified results that come out weeks later.

Web archives show that to be true in the 2020 Democratic primary for president.

Although other races, like the 2020 presidential general election and the 2022 Democratic primary for governor include blanks in unofficial election night results, the board spokesperson said that reporting for presidential primaries is different due to how delegates are assigned.

Because delegates are won based on the percentage of votes a candidate receives compared to other candidates, the spokesperson said it’s important to show that data without additional information that would not be relevant, such as blank votes.

DeBarros criticized the fact that election officials do not plan to report that data on election night.

“Given New Yorkers have a right to submit blank ballots as (a valid) choice, we think failure to report those votes explicitly on election night by either the NYS or NYC BOE is antithetical to the transparency necessary for a healthy democracy,” DeBarros said in a text message.

The New York City Board of Elections traditionally does not report blank ballots on election night, and DeBarros said the agency told organizers that would not change for the presidential primary.

But she said that state election officials originally told organizers that blanks would be reported on election night.

The New York activists’ strategy of encouraging blank ballots is relatively unique. Muslim and pro-Palestinian activists in Illinois, which like New York lacks an “uncommitted” option on the ballot, have urged voters to write in “Gaza” on the Democratic primary ballot.

That would not work in New York, though, since the state doesn’t have a write-in option in the presidential primary. ##