In key swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia, the ongoing genocide in Gaza continues to play a critical role in voter decision-making, as communities with large Arab and Muslim populations pressure the Biden-Harris administration for a ceasefire and an arms embargo on the Israeli military. 

However, as Election Day closely approaches and the genocide in Gaza has taken at least 42,000 lives, there appears to be no tangible policy proposals from Harris beyond “working around the clock” for a ceasefire deal. This has left many anti-war voters to struggle over how to utilize their ballots just three weeks before the election. 

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One USC student from Dearborn, Mich., who spoke under condition of anonymity, said they voted “uncommitted” as part of the larger Uncommitted National Movement to pressure the Biden-Harris administration for an arms embargo of Israel. Dearborn is home to the United States’ largest Arab and Muslim population. 

“I believe over 100,000 voters voted uncommitted [in Michigan], showing Biden that he really needs to change his stance and funding of Israel,” the student said. 

While the primaries occurred in March, the Uncommitted National Movement has since remained steadfast in their demands to the Biden-Harris administration. It has doubled down as recent Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon have murdered at least 1,900 and displaced an estimated 1.2 million.

“One of my best friends is Lebanese and just last week, she was telling me how most of her entire family in Lebanon had to leave Beirut and move to northern Lebanon because of the attacks [by Israel],” the student said. “ Hundreds of thousands are dying in the Middle East because of actions the U.S. is funding.”

James Zogby, co-founder of the Arab American Institute and a member of the Democratic National Committee, stressed to CNN that he desperately wants Harris to win, but the Harris campaign simply isn’t doing enough — and it could cost her the election. 

“With Lebanon in flames, they’ve got a bigger job. And I don’t think they’re ready to handle it,” Zogby said in an interview with CNN. 

When faced with their ballots, then, what are anti-war voters to do? 

Whether to vote for Harris reflects the agelong agent versus agency dilemma: As vice president, she does not have the power to control where funding goes. As a presidential candidate, however, she can pledge to distance herself from Biden’s current policies by reducing funding to the Israeli military, which has not been the case. 

Is power then possessed by an individual, or is it simply exercised within the confines of the system they operate under? In this election cycle, to what extent are we able to hold Harris accountable within a system inherently built off imperialism? 

There may be answers to these questions somewhere out there, but with only three weeks until election day, perhaps finding those answers is a privilege we cannot currently prioritize. What may be worth considering, however, is what makes a better long-term strategy. 

In an Oct. 8 video posted on the social platform X by the Uncommitted National Movement, co-founder Lexis Zeidan explained, “We have to orient less toward who is the better candidate and more toward what is the better anti-war approach in building our collective power.” 

While “choosing the lesser evil” isn’t necessarily good rhetoric, let us remember that though Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing genocide in Gaza occurred under the Biden-Harris administration, the occupation of Palestine began in 1948. 

Let us remember that during Donald Trump’s first term, the former president effectively dismantled pathways to Palestinian self-determination by shutting down the office of the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Washington. 

Let us remember that Project 2025, The Heritage Foundation’s roadmap for a Republican presidency written by Trump’s closest allies, aims to completely eliminate humanitarian aid to Gaza and the West Bank and proposes the annexation of said territories without regard to global opinion. 

“I’m gonna vote for Kamala Harris, but a part of me is still trying to wait to see if she’s actually gonna do anything differently,” the student said. “But I’m voting for her regardless because I can’t let a man who doesn’t want my family in this country win.”

Like the student, I believe a vote for Harris does not necessarily compromise one’s commitment to a halt to the bloodshed in Palestine, Lebanon and other regions being impacted by U.S.-backed Israeli military action. Yet the lack of action from the Harris campaign makes it difficult to condemn those who are contemplating voting Green. 

If Harris wants to secure Michigan and other battleground states, she needs to go beyond empty promises of working towards a ceasefire, and she needs to do it quickly.