Listen to Georgia

05/20/2024

03/20/2024

From Al Jazeera English: "US President Joe Biden began to shout and swear after learning that his poll numbers in the battleground states of and had dropped over his handling of Israel's war on , according to the NBC news.

The report cited a lawmaker familiar with the private meeting at the White House in January where the scene played out."

https://www.instagram.com/p/C4n7EKpspde/?igsh=ZTlueWoycWg2ZnU4

03/17/2024

From The Guardian: "…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."

Read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/17/us-uncommitted-voters-biden-gaza

03/16/2024

From The Guardian: "Georgia’s ballot didn’t have an uncommitted option, so organizers there put together a “leave it blank” campaign, calling on voters to cast a ballot, but not fill it out, to send a message to Biden on Gaza. Nearly 6,500 voters there left it blank. And nearly 9,000 voters chose Marianne Williamson, which some protest voters have selected because she supports a ceasefire. Combined, the votes exceed Biden’s margin of victory in the state in 2020, which was about 12,000 votes.”

Read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/14/washington-georgia-primary-uncommitted-vote-protest-gaza-biden

03/14/2024

From Atlanta Civic Circle: "The Listen to Georgia coalition’s goal was for 1,179 Democratic primary voters to leave their ballot blank. That represents 10% of Biden’s narrow 11,779 vote margin of victory in Georgia in 2020, out of almost 5 million ballots cast. The number of blank ballots cast Tuesday, 6,455, was at least five times that goal and represents a total of at least 2.2% of Democratic ballots cast.

“There are many more people than that who are upset about what is happening in Gaza with the support of the Biden administration. What we hope to do during this primary is to do what voters in Michigan did—send the president the message: ’You’ve got to change course, or you risk losing critical voters in the November election,’” said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, a spokesperson for CAIR Action."

Read more here: https://atlantaciviccircle.org/2024/03/12/how-the-keep-it-blank-campaign-is-pressuring-biden-over-gaza/

03/13/2024

From NPR: "At the time of the interview, results showed at least 6000 voters submitted a blank ballot.

Azka Mahmood, [an advisory board member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Action Georgia and a Listen to Georgia Coalition member], spoke with show host Rose Scott about the effectiveness of the campaign, why those in support of it all are calling it a success and what it could mean for November."

Listen to the interview here: https://www.wabe.org/leave-it-blank-organizers-call-protest-campaign-a-success/

03/13/2024

GEORGIA BLANK VOTE UPDATE: Listen to Georgia Coalition Exceeds Primary Goal with 6K Blank Ballots and 15K Total Protest Votes Against Biden.

We thank everyone who mobilized to make their voices heard in Georgia's Democratic presidential primary!

03/13/2024

BREAKING: Listen to Georgia Coalition Exceeds Primary Goal with 6K Blank Ballots and 15K Total Protest Votes Against Biden

(ATLANTA, GA - 3/12/2024) The Listen to Georgia Coalition–a multifaith and multiracial group of local faith leaders, activists, and political organizations–today announced the success of its Leave it Blank campaign after at least 6,455 Georgia voters submitted blank ballots in yesterday's Democratic presidential primary. The number of blank ballots represents a total of at least 2.2% of Democratic ballots cast. In 2020, President Biden won Georgia by .3% of the general vote.

Turnout in yesterday's Democratic primary was also low compared to the Republican primary, with Donald Trump's approximately 495,000 votes far exceeding President Biden's approximately 274,000 votes, indicating a substantial number of Democratic voters stayed home.

The Listen to Georgia Coalition expects to know final numbers later today, after outstanding precincts finish reporting and the Secretary of State announces the official count.

Combined with at least 8,639 votes for Marianne Williamson--who re-entered the presidential race after the successful Michigan uncommitted campaign with a focus on the demand for a ceasefire in Gaza--a total of over 15,000 Georgia voters likely submitted protest votes against President Biden. That exceeds Biden's 11,779 margin of victory in Georgia in 2020.

In a statement, the Listen to Georgia Coalition said:

"We thank everyone who mobilized to make their voices heard in Georgia's Democratic presidential primary. By submitting blank ballots or voting for the only pro-ceasefire candidate, at least 15,000 Georgia voters and the many more voters who stayed home sent President Biden a clear message: listen to Georgia, listen to the American people and stop enabling the genocide in Gaza, or risk losing the State of Georgia in the 2024 presidential election.

"The enthusiasm gap between turnout for Donald Trump compared to turnout for President Biden is also striking. There is no way President Biden can expect to win Georgia if the thousands of young voters and people of color who supported him and mobilized for him in 2020, most of whom oppose his Gaza policy, decide to vote for third party candidates or withhold their vote in November. President Biden must change course now."

Over the past week, the Listen to Georgia Coalition has welcomed support from over 500 volunteers. Together, the coalition emailed, texted, and called over 50,000 Georgia voters, and distributed flyers to voters in 19 cities across the state: Atlanta, Savannah, Macon, Athens, Augusta, Columbus, Marietta, Alpharetta, Mableton, Johns Creek, Milton, Chattahoochee Hills, Dunwoody, Peachtree Corners, Brookhaven, Tucker, and South Fulton.

Sixteen organizations participated in or supported the Listen to Georgia Coalition:
Georgia Muslim Action Committee (GAMAC)
Peach State Muslim Coalition (PSMC)
Voices of Muslims
CAIR Action 501c4
Jewish Voice for Peace Action (JVP Action)
Arab Americans 4Ward (formerly Arab Americans for Biden)
Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee
Georgia Youth Justice Coalition for Action
Atlanta chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America
The Rainbow Collective
IfNotNow Movement
New Disabled South Rising
Power Move for Palestine
Swing States for Peace
Georgia Muslim & Allies Phonebanking Initiative
The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) Action Fund

The Listen to Georgia Coalition's Leave it Blank campaign was modeled after the successful uncommitted Michigan campaign, which resulted in 101,000 voters voting uncommitted to protest President Biden's support for the genocide in Gaza and Israeli government, which has killed over 30,000 Palestinians in six months.

A total of at least 253,000 people voted uncommitted or no preference in the eight states with an option to do so. In the Minnesota Democratic presidential primary, over 45,000 voters (20 percent) chose the uncommitted option in a last-minute organizing campaign. In North Carolina, over 88,000 people voted no preference (13 percent) and over 54,000 (Massachusetts) selected no preference.

SEE: ‘Uncommitted’ Draws Strong Support Against Biden in Minnesota
SEE: "Uncommitted" vs. Biden: How the protest vote fared on Super Tuesday

MEDIA CONTACTS: Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected], Ghada Elnajjar, 678-308-1382, Clara Totenberg Green, 404-210-6574, Bassem Elfakhoury, 404-216-3450; Samia Abdulle, 678-983-8204

03/13/2024

Georgia Primary Election Updates! More to come tomorrow.

03/13/2024

🌟 Thank you to our amazing volunteers!! 🌟

Together, they've made a whopping 2,474 phone calls, sent a staggering 55,935 text messages, and fired off 24,386 emails all within 10 days! 📞📱💻

Every call, every text, every email represents a connection made, a voice heard, and a step towards telling Biden we are not standing by his complicity.

Thank you to our partnering organizations, community organizers, volunteers, team members, and all other allies for being the driving force behind !

03/12/2024

In Michigan, over 101,100 votes voiced "Uncommitted," expressing their dissatisfaction with Biden's support for Israel and a demand for a .

In Georgia, NOW is the time to act. Demand a permanent in the primary election.

Send a clear message to Biden: Georgians won't stand for genocide.

03/12/2024

Why Democrats Are Hopeful in North Carolina and Nervous in Georgia: President Biden's campaign and its allies are targeting both battleground states.

Source: The New York Times

Today is voting for Georgia. It's time to show Biden that Georgia stands with Palestine and AGAINST genocide!

Leave your Democratic ballot BLANK as a protest vote to demand a permanent .

ToGeorgia