What is an uncommitted vote, and can it be done in Pennsylvania?

An effort to pull votes away from President Joe Biden in the Democratic primaries through uncommitted voting is gaining national traction.

Progressive activists upset at Biden over his support of Israel’s military operation in Gaza have been encouraging voters to vote “uncommitted” in the Democratic primaries in protest. Activists across the country followed the lead of a group of activists in Michigan who helped secure enough uncommitted votes to be represented at the Democratic National Convention. The movement reached the same milestone in Minnesota Tuesday.

The movement’s strength was tested this week, with nearly half of the Super Tuesday states posing the option to declare an undesignated vote in the Democratic primaries.

Some states have the option to cast a vote in the primaries without choosing a specific candidate on the ballot. Depending on the state, this option appears on the ballot as “uncommitted,” “no preference,” or “noncommitted delegate.”

These votes represent a vote from a party member who isn’t supporting a particular candidate on the ballot.

Half of the 16 states that voted on Tuesday had the option for at least one party’s primary for the Super Tuesday races. Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Tennessee all had the option to vote uncommitted in the Democratic primaries, while Alabama, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas had the option for the Republican primary.

Washington, which holds its primary on March 12, will also have the option for the Democratic race. Meanwhile, advocates in Georgia are encouraging Democrats to submit blank ballots in protest when that state holds its primary the same day.

Voting uncommitted is not an option in Pennsylvania, but an initiative funded by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) called Vote Uncommitted PA is encouraging people to write in ”uncommitted” in the April 23 Democratic primary. Since Pennsylvania has closed primaries, voters must be registered as a Democrat to participate.

Some young voters in the Philly region told The Inquirer earlier this year that they were feeling conflicted over whether they want to vote for Biden because of the conflict.

» READ MORE: What you need to know to vote in Pennsylvania’s April 2024 primary

On Monday, DSA endorsed voting uncommitted in the Democratic primaries on a national scale as a way to hold Biden accountable for the United States’ military support of Israel.

More than 30,600 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its military operation, following the Oct. 7 attack in which Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.

“Until this administration ends its support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza and delivers a permanent, lasting ceasefire, Joe Biden will bear the responsibility for another Trump presidency,” DSA posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

The organization also announced initiatives in Minnesota, Colorado, and Washington.

DSA isn’t the only group looking to punish Biden at the ballot box for his role in the conflict. A national effort called Abandon Biden recently launched in Pennsylvania to encourage Muslim voters and their allies not to vote for Biden. Our Revolution, a progressive group founded by Bernie Sanders has also pushed for voting uncommitted, as well as The Armenian National Committee of America.

Listen to Michigan, a group that encouraged voters to vote uncommitted in that state’s primary, said the effort isn’t an endorsement of former President Donald Trump but rather an “opportunity to question whether the incumbent genuinely holds the support of his own party’s base.”

The group called it a “warning sign” to Biden and the Democratic Party “before it’s too late in November.”

» READ MORE: Some young Pa. voters can’t bring themselves to vote for Biden this year over the war in Gaza

On Tuesday, Minnesota became the second state where the uncommitted movement garnered delegates. With nearly 19% of the electorate voting uncommitted in the Democratic primary, 11 of the 75 delegates will represent them at the DNC.

North Carolina also saw a notable uncommitted turnout, with almost 13% voting “no preference.”

Listen to Michigan, the nexus of the effort, called itself “a last minute, low-budget effort born out of desperation to get our voices heard by President Biden.” The state’s uncommitted turnout garnered national attention shortly before Super Tuesday, with more primaries in the coming weeks.

While the effort’s launch in Michigan was successful enough in two congressional districts to garner a pair of delegates at the DNC, it’s unlikely to prevent Biden from winning the Democratic nomination. While the representation is a symbolic victory, they are just a small portion of the 117 delegates across the state.

The impact of the effort on a national scale will depend in part on how quickly activists can grab the attention of Democratic voters who want to make a point to Biden.

Across Michigan, 13.2% of voters, or more than 100,000 people, chose uncommitted in the Democratic primary. But in two congressional districts, uncommitted surpassed the required 15% threshold to send a delegate to the convention.

» READ MORE: These Muslim activists in Pennsylvania want to ‘abandon Biden’ over Gaza

Michigan has seen similar uncommitted efforts in the past that didn’t reach the threshold of earning delegates.

This year’s statewide uncommitted vote share was just a little higher than it was in 2012 during former President Barack Obama’s reelection bid, however, when nearly 11% of voters in Michigan voted uncommitted in the Democratic primary. Obama still won the primary that year, and defeated Republican nominee Mitt Romney in Michigan by 9.5 percentage points in the general election.

In the 2008 Democratic primaries, when Obama wasn’t on the ballot in Michigan, the uncommitted vote garnered a little over 40%. But Hillary Clinton still won the state, surpassing 55%.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.