How California Democrats may protest Biden’s Israel policy in the primary

Democrats unhappy with President Biden’s steadfast support of Israel in the Gaza war mounted a concerted effort in Michigan to protest, urging voters to mark “uncommitted” on their ballots to call for a ceasefire.

More than 100,000 voted that way on Tuesday, compared to more than 800,000 for Biden — though the “uncommitted” percentage is not wildly out of line from recent presidential primaries in Michigan.  It is enough to send two “uncommitted” delegates to the Democratic convention. 

But can Democratic voters do the same in California? 

Some readers want to know, wondering if they could send a message by writing in “uncommitted” or “ceasefire” instead of a candidate’s name on the March 5 primary presidential ballot.

The Secretary of State’s office says that only votes for Biden, the seven other official candidates on the Democratic ballot or the six certified write-in candidates will be counted for the presidential race. 

But leaving the presidential race blank or “editorializing” by writing in another name or phrase won’t invalidate the rest of your ballot, unless it “impedes tabulation,” in which case it will be set aside and reviewed by election officials.

Besides registered Democrats, no party preference voters can also cast ballots in the primary if you request a Democratic presidential ballot.

To minimize the risk of invalidating one’s vote, leaders with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, California PAC told CalMatters they are calling for Democratic voters to leave the presidential race blank and make sure to vote in other contests.

“We are asking all of our voters to vote down-ballot, and many of them are looking for candidates who are asking or calling for a ceasefire…. We don’t want to take the risk of affecting other down-ballots, especially with tight Senate and congressional races,” said Al Jabbar, secretary of the organization.

Rallies calling for a ceasefire are planned for Saturday in cities across California and the nation. While there have been reports of a possible truce and hostage release as soon as next week, that may have been derailed by a chaotic incident in a food line in which more than 100 Palestinians were reportedly killed, including some after Israeli troops opened fire. The Hamas-run health ministry says that brings total deaths in Gaza to more than 30,000.

The Gaza war has been a contentious issue in California politics ever since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. 

Debate over U.S. policy led to disruptions at the state Democratic Party convention in November, protests during the first day of the state Legislature and divisions on college campuses. In the primary campaign, the issue is helping distinguish the three leading Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate.