People in Michigan, and across the country, had been protesting for months over the Gaza war and the US government’s role in it, marching in the streets, showing up at the president’s public events, and pressuring their elected officials to support a ceasefire.

But it didn’t seem as though Joe Biden was listening to a groundswell of Democrats who opposed the war and US media coverage of the protests, and of the war itself, seems to be waning, too.

The burgeoning anti-war movement needed another way to get the president’s attention. It landed on a strategy: telling Democratic voters to cast ballots for “uncommitted”, essentially no one, as a protest against the war in Gaza and to demand a ceasefire.

What then transpired in a series of primary votes shows the strength of a quick-moving group of voters whose decisions in November could decide the election and the fate of US intervention in Gaza. Their ability to swiftly and cheaply reach voters serves as a lesson in grassroots organizing – and underlines the discontent among Democrats over the war.

The plan was informed by a similar move in Michigan in 2008. That year, then candidate Barack Obama was not on the ballot in Michigan because the state’s primary date violated party rules, so his supporters voted “uncommitted” to reject Hillary Clinton’s campaign there. The message hit strongly, with about 40% of voters choosing uncommitted, including huge swaths of Black and young voters.

A memo written in late January by Waleed Shahid, a Democratic strategist, outlined the idea: use uncommitted in the Michigan presidential primary to “demonstrate a large rejection of President Biden’s backing and financing of the Israeli government’s war in Gaza”. The effort would generate free press to the anti-war movement and help activists learn skills in canvassing, phone banking and messaging, the memo noted. It would “politicize and electoralize discontent” over the war.

Michigan, in particular, could get the president’s attention: its large Arab American and Muslim population was already mobilized against the war and lukewarm about, if not outright opposed to, Biden’s re-election because of Gaza. And it’s a swing state that Biden won in 2020, but Trump won in 2016 – it is in play for either candidate in 2024.

The memo became reality, with a shoestring budget and a few weeks of intense on-the-ground work to get the word out to voters that they could use their vote to let Biden know that their votes weren’t guaranteed in November. Already, organizers had been hearing from people who were going to stay home or choose a third party because of their opposition to the war. Uncommitted gave them a way to make their voices heard well before the contest focused in on Biden v Trump – and it gave Biden a chance to act.

“We largely wanted to use this as not just a protest vote, but a warning to President Biden that there are lots of people in this country who are not committed to your reelection, and you should take that seriously,” Shahid said.

Organizers set a goal of 10,000 votes for uncommitted, roughly the margin that Trump won the state by in 2016, knowing how difficult it would be to start a campaign so quickly.

They made over 500,000 phone calls and sent more than 600,000 text messages to voters. They tapped into existing organizations on the ground who knew how to mobilize. Seasoned organizers led the effort, assisted by hundreds of volunteers both in Michigan and nationally, from progressive groups, faith communities and anti-war organizations. Groups like the Democratic Socialists of America and Our Revolution provided support, helping to canvass or send emails to voters. Jewish activists hosted phone banks.

Listen to Michigan, the uncommitted campaign, got endorsements from dozens of elected officials, including mayors, state lawmakers, members of city council and school boards. Rashida Tlaib, who represents Detroit and is Palestinian American, and former congressman Andy Levin also endorsed and boosted the campaign.

They far exceeded their goal. More than 101,000 Michigan Democrats, about 13% of those who voted, cast ballots for uncommitted, winning two delegates to the Democratic national convention and awakening a modern anti-war movement that forced the president’s attention to Gaza.

“I have never been a part of such an aggressive campaign before and we had such little time to like reach our mountaintop. In less than three weeks, we accomplished the impossible,” said Layla Elabed, a longtime organizer and the campaign manager for Listen to Michigan, who is also Tlaib’s sister.

The momentum spread from there.

“Michigan birthed a political movement,” Elabed said.

Movement moves from Michigan

As the anti-war left saw the success in Michigan, they started working locally to stand up their own organizing to keep the pressure on Biden for a ceasefire. Informed by, and in some cases with direct support from, Michigan organizers, they set up their own phone and text banking, calling on volunteers to hit the phones.

The groups gathered in these states represent a multi-faith, multi-racial and multi-generational swath of voters, from Muslim organizations to Jewish ones to political groups to unions.

The next stop was Minnesota, a state with a progressive tradition, a sizable Somali population, and seasoned organizers who learned how to get messages out fast during the 2020 racial uprisings over the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis cop.

Asma Mohammed, a longtime activist in Minnesota, became the somewhat reluctant leader of the uncommitted campaign there – “I work full-time, I have a child, I have chronic illness, I don’t have time.” But she knew how to do the work, and she cared deeply about the issue. Her first anti-war protest came when she was in elementary school, putting up posters against the war in Iraq. She’d since organized against police brutality and became the “mutual aid queen”, managing donation sites around the city in 2020.

Minnesota had eight days from when the campaign publicly launched until election day on Super Tuesday. They had $20,000. It took longer than expected to start phone banking because of how difficult it was to open a new bank account for the group. But once volunteers started calling people, they heard from voters who planned to stay home and instead would turn out for uncommitted.

“It was so grassroots that I’m telling you, we were in the dirt. That’s how grassroots it was,” Mohammed said.

She, and hundreds of others, made calls, went to mosques, knocked on doors, sent texts, posted on social media, rallied in the park – a full-court press in the final days before the primary.

The work paid off in Minnesota: about 19% of Democratic voters chose uncommitted, nearly 46,000 voters. Perhaps most strikingly, it was slightly more than the margin Hillary Clinton won Minnesota by over Trump in 2016 – a sign that even a reliably blue state could falter if the president does not change course on Gaza. Uncommitted won 11 of the state’s 75 Democratic delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday.

“Other states are taking what Michigan did and turning it into this beautiful national movement,” Mohammed said. “And I wish that we wouldn’t need to organize so quickly, so hard, with so little funding, but that’s the position we’re being put in because the president hasn’t been listening.”

On a national call led by Listen to Michigan on 7 March, dozens of people interested in helping out the effort in other states heard why Michigan had turned out for a pro-ceasefire vote and how they could lend a hand to keep the movement going. Potential volunteers were urged to sign up for phone and text banks, donate whatever time and money they could spare and join a WhatsApp group that shares actions people can take.

Organizers from Michigan and Minnesota shared what worked for them, followed by campaign leaders in Washington and Wisconsin, who detailed what they hoped to see in their states once voters had a chance to cast ballots for uncommitted options.

In a chatbox, people on the call dropped in flowers and hearts to celebrate the successes seen so far. The votes so far were just the beginning of this anti-war movement, organizers told listeners, but these rapidly organized campaigns show how powerful the movement is and how it’s growing. And they emphasized that these votes are not an anti-Biden, pro-Trump campaign – they’re a humanitarian vote, looking to save as many lives as possible by ending a war.

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In some places, separate groups have called on voters to write “ceasefire” on their ballots, though those write-in votes are not always counted, making it difficult to assess how many people have followed suit.

In Washington state on 12 March, about 79,000 turned out for “uncommitted delegates,” and there are still about 89,000 ballots left to count, so the number could increase. The Washington group’s goal was 12,000 votes for uncommitted, roughly double the amount of uncommitted voters in 2020.

“The Michigan campaign was an inspiration for us over here in Washington, it’s like maybe there is a way for us who are unhappy with what the President is doing to register our discontent with his policies,” said Rami Al-Kabra, an organizer of Washington’s campaign and a city council member in Bothell, Washington.

Washington’s campaign got endorsements from major unions and elected officials, too, as the state’s progressive voters came together to hit the phones for uncommitted. Al-Kabra said he’d heard from voters who had thrown their ballots away because they felt they had no choice in the election; they subsequently requested new ones after learning they could choose uncommitted.

Campaigns in Minnesota, Washington and Wisconsin have gotten organizing help from Michigan. The spread to other states wasn’t part of Shahid’s initial plan – putting together this rapid organizing is incredibly difficult.

But the momentum served as a testament that the message was resonating with voters nationwide who wanted a ceasefire and would use their vote to make that clear to Biden.

Others inspired by Michigan’s movement have stood up campaigns as well, using local networks and existing organizations to build coalitions filled with people who are against the war and ready to use their votes to send that message.

Other Super Tuesday states, like North Carolina, Colorado and Massachusetts, saw solid turnout for uncommitted with smaller campaigns, though they lagged the percentages of uncommitted voters seen in comparable years. Still, the messages got local media attention in those states and kept the ceasefire vote in the headlines.

The primary in Hawaii on 6 March came in with an even higher percentage of voters who went uncommitted. About 29% of the nearly 1,600 voters in the state’s Democratic contest chose uncommitted, despite minimal organizing help nationally.

Even in states without an uncommitted ballot option, organizers started making calls. In Georgia, a campaign for voters to submit a blank ballot as a protest vote saw about 6,500 people follow suit after hundreds of volunteers reached out to more than 50,000 voters in a swift campaign. Listen to Georgia organizers said their campaign was modeled after Michigan’s.

Next stops boosted by Michigan

All eyes turn to Wisconsin next, another swing state tied closely to Biden’s fate in November There, advocates are calling for voters to choose “uninstructed,” that state’s version of an uncommitted vote.

The goal in Wisconsin is to get at least 20,682 votes – the margin Biden won the state by in 2020, less than 1% of the vote in that election. It’s a goal chosen by other states as well, designed to drive home to Biden that this constituency could sway his election.

Janan Najeeb, the president of the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition who launched the Wisconsin campaign, said the state was inspired by Michigan’s campaign and how successful it was.

“We knew that this is no longer an issue that is just a concern of Palestinians or Arabs or Muslims. There’s a groundswell of people that are saying no to genocide,” Najeeb said.

Wisconsin is not the only state with an uncommitted option that still has yet to vote in the presidential primary. Several other states coming up have a version of uncommitted on their ballots, so local organizing there could pick up. Mohammed, from Minnesota, said any states looking to start an uncommitted campaign should get going as soon as they can – more time can help spread the word better.

Another swing state, Arizona, has organizers pushing for Marianne Williamson as the vehicle for a protest vote since the state only allows qualified write-in candidates to be tallied and doesn’t have an uncommitted line on the ballot. The self-help author challenging Biden has called for a ceasefire.

There’s a groundswell of people that are saying no to genocide

Uncommitted now has delegates who will go to the Democratic national convention – delegates who could use the organizing experience they gained so quickly to make their voices heard among their party, hopefully influencing the candidate’s platform on Gaza. Minnesota won 11 delegates, Hawaii got seven and Michigan has two. Other states could add more; delegates are awarded when a congressional district votes more than 15% for a specific candidate.

DNC rules say uncommitted delegates can vote for an eligible candidate, or they’d otherwise be considered “present” if they don’t choose an eligible candidate. It’s not unheard of for there to be uncommitted delegates: Barack Obama went to the convention with about 800 delegates either uncommitted or going for other candidates, though they all ultimately voted for Obama.

Still, an organized and vocal group of anti-war activists will now have both a formal role and surely an informal one to protest Biden’s stance on Gaza.

Already, it seems like the movement has jolted Biden – and other Democrats – on the issue. The White House’s language has changed, from seeking a “humanitarian pause” to a temporary ceasefire. Biden called for a port to be built to drop aid into Gaza. More Democrats have publicly started speaking out against the Biden administration on the issue. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, one of Biden’s allies, called for ousting Netanyahu’s government.

Activists say the change in language and attention does not include enough of an underlying change in policy. Their message has been clear and consistent throughout the campaigns: they want to see a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to US funding and support of the war.

The movement has been adamant that it is not an anti-Biden, pro-Trump effort, despite criticisms from other Democrats that hitting Biden on the issue could weaken him in November. There’s a lot of time – and time for action – between now and November that gives Biden a chance to change course, organizers say. He can win a good chunk of these voters back by supporting a ceasefire.

Campaigners are hopeful to increase the number of uncommitted delegates to make their DNC power grow, and they have plans to keep up the pressure through the summer as the primaries end.

“It is our hope that Joe Biden would not risk his presidency, not risk the White House, to someone like Donald Trump,” Elabed said.

Alice Herman contributed reporting