On behalf of the Maryland  Green Party, we would like to congratulate the organizers, advocates, and voters who helped to secure nearly 65,000 votes for “Uncommitted” in the Maryland Democratic Primary. In doing so, these voters used the power of the ballot to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, demonstrating that any vote for President Joe Biden can and will be contingent upon an end to US support of the ongoing genocide enacted by the state of Israel. 

For decades, there has been an unyielding bipartisan consensus that the US government will support Israel and the broader Zionist movement unconditionally, regardless of their legality or severity, and any opposition amongst U.S. constituents. As a result, the Israeli regime, under the cover of US protection, has been allowed to act with impunity, enacting a system of apartheid and occupation that has culminated into the current genocide being waged in Gaza today. 

President Joe Biden, as a self-described Zionist, has long supported these policies, and continues to support them today, despite mounting evidence that Israel is using U.S. arms and political backing to commit repeated war crimes against the Palestinian people. However, over the last seven months, Biden and other Democratic politicians have begun to shift their position (if ever so slightly) to consider criticizing Israel and conditioning weapons sales.

Why? They are losing their political support. Current polls suggest that 7 in 10 voters across all parties support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, with over half of all Democrats believing Israel is enacting genocide.  And as election season kicks into full gear, voters are becoming increasingly aware of the power they wield, holding Biden and the Democrats accountable with the one thing politicians can’t ignore: their votes. 

It’s within this context that the “Uncommitted” movement has given Maryland voters a means to pressure  Biden and the Democratic Party into ending political, financial, and arms support for Israel. However, this pressure cannot falter. Without sustained efforts leading into the general election, the demand for Biden to end this genocide will likely fail and Democrats will revert back to their decades-long status quo of unconditional support for Israel.

Now is the time to ensure there is a pro-Palestine, anti-genocide alternative on the November 5th ballot, in order to apply credible pressure on the Biden administration to change course. For 20 years the Green Party has maintained its support for Palestine and the BDS movement, calling for Palestinian self-determination, an end to Israeli occupation and colonization, and the right of return for all Palestinian refugees. Current Green Party presidential candidate, Dr. Jill Stein, has repeatedly and unwaveringly advocated for the people of Palestine, even enduring police brutality and arrest while standing in solidarity with student organizers at Washington University. This is in stark contrast to a current president – and party – that not only fails to condemn Israeli atrocities, but continues to fund them. 

Although we don’t expect all “Uncommitted” voters to vote Green in the 2024 election, we firmly believe that all voters, especially those against genocide, deserve to have options that they can support in good conscience. Alternative candidate(s) they can vote for, should their current elected officials fail to represent their views, are an essential part of our electoral process and are the way that third-party candidates exert power in a two-party system.

This is as true today as it was in 1844, when both major parties nominated supporters of slavery. Voters should not have to vote for the “lesser of two evils'' when both evils support Israeli apartheid and ethnic cleansing. Dr. Stein and the Green Party as a whole have gone far beyond calls for a ceasefire for two decades, offering a truly pro-Palestine alternative that is seemingly impossible within the current two-party system.

However, due to bipartisan efforts to limit ballot access for third parties in Maryland, we cannot provide a Green alternative without help. Right now, Maryland Green Party members and supporters must collect 15,000 signatures by August in order to ensure Dr. Jill Stein and Maryland Green Party candidates are on the ballot for 2024. 

We’re calling on Maryland “Uncommitted” voters to help us in these efforts by signing our petition for ballot access. Signing is not a vote or endorsement for the Green Party, nor does it change current party affiliation. It is simply a petition that ensures Green Party candidates show up on future ballots, whether you wish to vote for them or not. And what better way to apply pressure, to continue pushing Biden away from genocide, than by securing a viable, pro-Palestinian challenger he must compete against? 

And come November, should the Biden administration continue its current course, wouldn’t you like to have the option to vote for a candidate who actually represents your views? 

Finally, for those dissatisfied with the current two-party system and looking for a different path, consider learning more about and joining your local Green Party. Beyond this election, beyond this devastating moment in history, we are fighting to build a healthy political alternative, so that up and down the ballot - from city and county councils, to the state house in Annapolis, and even Congress in DC - we can have choices unconstrained by the political imagination of a “lesser evil” and instead rooted in peace, democracy, justice and ecology. To learn more, go to mdgreens.org. 

We must continue to fight for Gaza, for Palestine, and for a more just political system. Join us in keeping up the pressure through November and make your voices, your dissent, heard. Together we have the the power to oppose genocide and to bring peace, democracy, and justice to the people of Maryland and the people of the world.


This open letter is authored by Tori Nefflen, Robert Stubblefield, Andrew Eneim, Dana Polson and Andy Ellis. Between us we include: Long time Green Party members, new Green Party members, “uncommitted movement” organizers, uncommitted voters. No matter the political path we have walked to get this moment we are all committed to making sure voters have a pro-Palestine choice on the ballot in Maryland in 2024 and beyond.