A Refusal to Vote for Harris Misapprehends the Meaning of Voting

Israel has annihilated the institutions and infrastructure that made Gaza a society—public schools, hospitals, places of worship, universities, housing, farms, the agencies that distribute food to the needy, utilities, water supplies. Israel’s relentless bombing and shelling have killed or wounded well over 138,000 Palestinians, and Israel is inflicting a famine on Gaza, using starvation as a weapon of war.

Kamala Harris’ continued support for Israel’s genocidal war on the people of Gaza is despicable. But Donald Trump is a fascist who poses an imminent danger to America, and must be stopped.

Many people are saying they can’t bring themselves to vote for Harris in light of her position on Gaza. But those who plan instead to vote for the Green Party or to sit out the election have a bad misunderstanding of what voting means. If enough people share their confusion, disaster lies ahead—because along with a Trump victory will come Middle East policies that are even worse for Palestine.

Supporting the people of Gaza is imperative. But voting for the Green Party is no way to support them. Whatever Jill Steins says about Gaza, there is zero chance she will be our next president. And Donald Trump, the de facto beneficiary of the Green Party campaign, would certainly be no better for Gaza.

If Harris gets my vote for president, it does not mean I approve of her acts or her statements on Gaza. It only means I think our country, our way of life, and the future of Gazans, too, will likely be better if Harris holds that position of power than if Donald Trump does.

Refusing to vote for Harris misapprehends the meaning of voting. There is nothing on the ballot next to Kamala Harris’s name that says, “By checking here, I express my approval of all Kamala Harris has done, affirm that I share her values, and convey my deep admiration for her.”

Voting does not mean any of these things. Voting is not speech. It is action, action that advances one candidate over another, makes one state of affairs more likely than another. Voting means playing a role in a collective decision that one candidate will win and another will lose. Its content is not personal expression but what one political leader may do that the other opposes.

If Harris gets my vote for president, it does not mean I approve of her acts or her statements on Gaza. It only means I think our country, our way of life, and the future of Gazans, too, will likely be better if Harris holds that position of power than if Donald Trump does.

Either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will be elected president. One or the other, no one else. No one can argue with a straight face that it doesn’t matter which.

A Trump victory would be a calamity. A calamity for the eleven million immigrants Trump means to deport—a calamity for everyone on a planet Earth impacted by climate change—a calamity for the people of color Trump demonizes, degrades and disenfranchises—a calamity for women entitled to control their own bodies and fates—a calamity for those who rely on the social safety net—a calamity for Jews fearful of the rising power of antisemites befriended by Donald Trump—a calamity for activists and public officials targeted by MAGA threats and violence—and a calamity for our fragile and imperfect constitutional democracy.

A Trump victory would be a calamity for the Palestinian people as well, likely to exacerbate the second nakba already engulfing Gaza and the West Bank.

Either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will be elected president. One or the other, no one else. No one can argue with a straight face that it doesn’t matter which.

Trump opposes the creation of an actual Palestinian state, and suspended U.S. opposition to West Bank settlements when he was president—resulting in “an aggressive Israeli settlement spree” that “pushed deeper than ever into the occupied West Bank.” Trump opposes calls for an immediate cease-fire, and his response to the broad student protest movement of support for Gaza is only: “Deport pro-Hamas radicals.”

“Israel has to do what they have to do,” says Trump. Only last week Trump promised, “We’re going to do a lot for Israel, we’re going to take care of Israel.”

On January 20, 2025, we can have a flawed individual as president, Kamala Harris, and attempt to pressure her to do the right thing, as the Congressional Progressive Caucus and many others have attempted. We can have a President Harris who will, by and large, adhere to the rule of law. A President Harris who will move us in the right direction on climate change. A President Harris who is grounded in reality and will seek to protect our democracy and our rights.

Or we can have the deranged fascist Donald Trump, who will annihilate our Constitution, our democracy and our freedoms in a maelstrom of political violence, misogynist aggression, mass deportation, racism and antisemitism, accelerating inequality, nepotistic corruption, and plutocratic fascism.

Harris and Trump are the only alternatives. This is our only real choice.