The Vote Ceasefire write-in primary campaign that received 1% in the New Hampshire Democratic primary has migrated to Washington state ahead of its primary elections on March 12.
Organizers were inspired by New Hampshire’s campaign and are spreading the word via social media—Vote Ceasefire New Hampshire’s online accounts have even rebranded to Vote Ceasefire Washington.
The Vote Ceasefire movement initially took hold in January ahead of the New Hampshire primaries as a response to President Joe Biden’s write-in campaign.
Biden was left off the New Hampshire ballot after the Democratic National Committee pushed to make South Carolina the nation’s first Democratic primary. New Hampshire still held its primary in January, but Biden kept his name off in response and no delegates were at stake. Biden still won with write-in votes, however.
In an interview with the Daily Dot, New Hampshire Vote Ceasefire organizer Morgan Brown said the campaign is for Democrats who feel voting for Biden isn’t a good option. Biden’s unwavering support for Israel since the start of its war with Hamas has garnered immense backlash.
“It feels wrong to vote for genocide,” Brown told the Daily Dot.
Thus, Vote Ceasefire provided those voting in the Democratic primary with another option: Write-in the word “ceasefire” to send a message to the Biden administration.
In New Hampshire, Vote Ceasefire garnered approximately 1,500 votes, but Vote Ceasefire Washington organizer Barb Stuebling told the Daily Dot the Washington state campaign isn’t focusing on a specific target number.
“As many people as we can get,” Stuebling told the Daily Dot. “I don’t think we really had the guts to dream about a number.”
She said the Washington state campaign was inspired by New Hampshire, and that she and other organizers are using social media, yard signs, and word of mouth to grow support.
Stuebling posted a photo of her mail-in ballot on her personal Instagram account.
As for the general election, Stuebling said it’s “really far away” and she doesn’t know who she’ll vote for yet. Some of the backlash to the Vote Ceasefire has come from people afraid that criticism of Biden could lead to a lack of support in the election.
“A lot of things can happen between now and then,” Stuebling said. “I don’t really have a plan until probably closer to then. [I’ll] see what’s happening in the world.”
The Washington State campaign kicked off on Feb. 22; so far, mostly mail-in voters have posted online saying they wrote in “ceasefire” on their ballots.
“I just voted for ‘Ceasefire,’” a Washington voter posted on their Instagram alongside a picture of their ballot. “Suck it Biden and Trump.”
Vote Ceasefire isn’t the only primary campaign working to send a message to Biden: Michigan’s Listen to Michigan campaign urges voters to bubble in “uncommitted” on their ballots to protest Biden’s support for Israel in the state’s Democratic primary on Feb. 27.
