Early voting in Michigan kicks off in tight US presidential race

Early voting in Michigan kicked off over the weekend amid a tight US presidential race between the major party candidates, both of whom have raised concerns among the state’s high populations of Arabs and Muslims for their support for Israel’s war on Gaza.

Multiple polls in the last weeks of election season have shown Green Party candidate Jill Stein to be in the lead among Arabs and Muslims, while Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris appear to be neck-and-neck or in some polls, Trump is slightly ahead of Harris.

On Saturday, advocacy groups began holding early voting events in southeastern Michigan, urging people to make their voices heard.

For community leaders trying to get out the vote, turnout and participation are the priority, given Arabs’ and Muslims’ historic under-representation as well as the importance of local and state races, including that of Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.

“We like to see active participation, despite anger and disappointment. It’s a true challenge,” Imad Hamad, Dearborn-based executive director of the American Human Rights Council, which endorsed Stein, told The New Arab. “Boycotting is not the solution.”

“As much as we value the protest system, that’s not the right way to go about it. The best way is to vote our values and conscience. The point is to not let people’s disappointment keep them from voting for other candidates statewide. Don’t punish the rest,” he added. 

Wa’el Alzayat, executive director of Emgage, a Muslim voter advocacy group which have endorsed Harris, told TNA, “What we’re expecting is a strong push at the end, which is what we’re seeing with the Trump and Harris campaigns.”

He said, “We’re pushing a number of videos highlighting problematic things Trump has said he’ll do. We’re also pushing a lot of digital ads this week. It’s a whole statewide strategy. We’ll see.”

Though historically foreign policy does not tend to be a major factor in US elections, Israel’s war in Gaza appears to be a different story, particularly in Michigan. Many Arabs and Muslims in the state have family in the region.

Moreover, many strongly supported Biden in the 2020 election, seeing him as a better alternative to Trump, who had issued the Muslim ban during his presidency.

With Michigan as one of a handful of critical swing states, Arabs and Muslims are seeing an outsized role in this year’s election, though many are frustrated over a lack of representation from the two major parties.