On voting “uncommitted” in the Michigan presidential primary

Listen to Michigan has crafted a simple message with an easy ask: turn in an “uncommitted” ballot on Tuesday to demand a ceasefire in Gaza from the incumbent U.S. president. That’s a great tactic for those committed to working within the Democratic Party for change. But how does it fit strategically for those outside the Democratic Party?

Per Michigan election law and electoral developments to date, resident voters may choose from one or the other major U.S. political parties in this Sunday’s presidential primary election. Both primaries are run on the same ballot, which makes more sense than printing two ballots for each voter and then throwing half of them away, even if it leads to some confused voters invalidating their ballots by voting for a candidate from each party.

Minor parties select candidates to run in the general election through a nominating convention, but their members can still vote in Michigan’s primaries, as can unaffiliated and independent voters. Theoretically, a bloc of voters can impact one or both of the major parties’ primary elections in Michigan, limited only by the size and discipline of the bloc.

Listen to Michigan’s “Uncommitted Campaign” seems to be the only prominent attempt in the state to form such a bloc this cycle. To participate, an eligible voter must request and cast a Democratic Party primary ballot and choose the option titled “Uncommitted.” The last time a significant challenge was mounted this way was 2008, when 40% of more than half a million participants in the Michigan Democratic Party’s presidential primary voted “Uncommitted” largely in response to Hillary Clinton being on the ballot while Barack Obama was not. Obama went on to be awarded the nomination from the Democratic National Committee after an extremely close contest.¹

In total, 1,463,567 (20%) of eligible Michigan voters cast ballots in the 2008 presidential primaries. Over five million (67.45%) cast ballots in the general election, meaning over three and a half million Michiganders found no reason to vote in a primary sufficiently compelling but would later vote in the general election. The gap was similar in 2020, a record-breaking turnout year, when more than two million Michiganders declined to vote in both.

Altogether, that leaves a pool of over five million free agents with respect to presidential primary elections in Michigan. So far, factions within the Democratic Party itself have tapped the most sympathetic elements from this pool to form a voting bloc and influence the party from the inside with support from without. But greater potential lies in mobilizing a durable and lasting movement independent from the major parties, influencing them continuously from the outside, vying for the power they currently hold. That is why organizing outside the parties around taking action in their primary elections, and beyond, is imperative.

¹ While this appeared to be a significant fissure in the Democratic Party at the time, it was ultimately proven quite superficial in 2016 when, as both looked leftward at Bernie Sanders, Obama fumbled the baton-pass to Clinton right into Trump’s tiny hands.