“Will they cast a ballot? We will say that votes must be earned.”

With Kamala Harris due to officially accept the Democratic Party’s nomination as their presidential candidate this week in Chicago, here in Georgia, at least one progressive Asian-American voter engagement group is warning that many in its community are still uncommitted. Chief among their concerns: Israel’s war in Gaza.

“This is an issue that is near and dear to our communities,” said Ashna Khanna, Deputy Director of the Asian American Advocacy Fund (AAAF), an organization that works to elect progressive Democratic local and state candidates and that focuses on engaging Asian American voters in Georgia, a growing demographic of over 250,000, that make up more than 3 percent of the electorate. 

“This is an issue that is near and dear to our communities.”

Ashna Khanna, Asian American Advocacy Fund

Since Vice President Kamala Harris became the nominee, canvassers with AAAF have found as they have been knocking on doors and hitting the phones, that “the majority of our community is still undecided.”

That unease over the war in Gaza was more widely reflected in a recent poll in swing states commissioned by the Institute for Middle East Understanding and conducted by the firm YouGov. The poll found that 39% of Democrat and independent voters in Georgia said they would be more likely to vote for Vice President Harris if she committed to an arms embargo against Israel. 44% were  more likely to vote for Harris if Biden secures a ceasefire, while just 2% would be less likely. 

That seems to be a message that AAAF is hearing from undecided voters in its community too, said Ashna. “A lot of folks are supporting a ceasefire, and a lot of folks are looking towards this issue to see where Harris will weigh in on it.”

More than 40,000 people in Gaza, including over 16,000 children, have been killed after Israel began its relentless assault in the region, following Hamas’ attacks in southern Israel in October 2023, which killed more than 1,100 people.

On Sunday, AAAF was among a host of groups, including Jewish Voices for Peace – Atlanta, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Atlanta Multifaith Peace Coalition, who organized the “Not Another Bomb” rally on the steps of the Georgia Capitol. The protest called for an end to the U.S.’s military support for Israel’s war and was part of a nationwide series of actions, that came out of the uncommitted movement in Michigan. “It’s all connected,” said Doha Medani, the Organizing Manager of AAAF, as protestors laid out signs on the hot sidewalk, and cars drove by, many honking their horns in support. “They did a rally in Michigan yesterday and they invited basically anyone across the country to do one in their city this weekend.”

The rally drew a diverse crowd of Atlanta residents. Their positions were diverse too: Many told 285 South they were unable to pledge support for Kamala Harris until she made her stance on the war in Gaza clear, while some said they planned to vote for her, but that they would continue to pressure the White House to end its support for Israel’s war. 

Others, like Julian Delgado, an Atlanta resident whose parents are from Colombia, said they were disillusioned with the whole system. He started learning about the situation in Gaza in December, through TikTok. Since then, he’s been joining protests in both DC and Atlanta. “I think the two party system is a sham,” he said, holding a sign that said “Viva Palestina Libra, No Estas Sola.” Long life free Palestine. You are not alone. 

All of them were hoping to see real change in America’s policy toward the war. 

Diana, who is originally from Mexico (and asked for her last name to not be shared), said that she was compelled to drive down to the Georgia Capitol, with her 13-year-old sister in tow, because, “as an immigrant myself, I know that all of our freedoms are interconnected.” 

The war in Gaza, she said, had impacted the way she’d chosen to engage in this election cycle, and had motivated her to educate her family and community about what’s happening overseas. “My tax dollars are funding the genocide, and that is not okay with me, and so I just want the U.S. government to stop funding that.”

Devin Barrington Ward, a local community organizer who is running for a seat on the Atlanta City Council in November, agreed that the money the United States gives to Israel for weapons should be stopped. “We have broken pipes in the city of Atlanta. We didn’t have water for five days…we could be using those billions of dollars that are being sent overseas to invest in the lives of people here while also protecting life over there.”

“We have broken pipes in the city of Atlanta. We didn’t have water for five days…we could be using those billions of dollars that are being sent overseas to invest in the lives of people here while also protecting life over there.”

Devin Barrington-Ward, community organizer and Atlanta City Council candidate

As the rally wound down, and people drifted away, demonstrators were clear they wouldn’t just fall in line behind the new Democrat nominee. 

Ashna Khanna at the AAAF said they would continue to engage with voters, and continue to  highlight the fact that so many in Georgia’s immigrant communities consider what’s happening in Gaza critical to their choice.  

“Will they cast a ballot? We will say that votes must be earned… Palestinians simply can’t wait for the promises of a new administration.”