Michigan Armenian “Uncommitted” Campaign Garners International Coverage of Biden’s Genocidal Artsakh Policy

ANCA’s Swing State Project Spotlights Pivotal Role of Armenian American Voters in 2024’s Hotly-Contested U.S. Presidential Elections

February 29, 2024

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian American community’s electoral response to President Biden’s complicity in Azerbaijan’s genocide of Artsakh’s indigenous Armenians was spotlighted this week in international news coverage of the Michigan Armenian “uncommitted” vote in the Democratic presidential primary, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Articles in POLITICO, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, BBC, and Reason Magazine showcased ANC of Michigan efforts in support of the “uncommitted” movement, which garnered over 100,000 votes in Tuesday’s election.

POLITICO was first to report that the “uncommitted” campaign enjoyed broad support in the Armenian American community.  “Dzovinar Hatsakordzian — a national board member of the Armenian National Committee of America — is urging Armenian Democrats in Michigan to vote ‘Uncommitted’ because he ‘armed Azerbaijan’s genocide of Artsakh’s indigenous Armenians.’ The ANCA has circulated graphics that read ‘Michigan’s Armenian voters will remember this November that Biden armed Azerbaijan and abandoned Armenians to genocidal killers.’”

Also citing Hatsakordzian’s op/ed in The Armenian Weekly, the New York Times reported, “A group of Armenian Americans is also urging an “uncommitted” vote to protest treatment of ethnic Armenians living in Azerbaijan.”

The BBC reported on the “failure of the Biden administration to address the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region,” as the reason for the record number of Michigan Armenian ‘uncommitted’ votes.

“The response has been overwhelming,” Hatsakordzian told the Washington Post, which noted that the ANCA “estimates that Michigan is home to about 72,000 Armenian Americans, including their family members and others close to the community. Hatsakordzian estimated that she had heard from at least 50 people who voted “uncommitted” to protest Biden’s support for Azerbaijan.”

ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian told USA Today, “We really feel like he broke faith with our community. Our thought is that type of complicity should have consequences.”

During interviews with Reason Magazine, Hamparian explained, “Everyone who voted ‘uncommitted’ went to the polls trying to bring accountability to our foreign policy system, and that’s a good thing. Exercises like this remind [politicians] that foreign policy doesn’t start and end at the State Department. It’s the property of the American people.”  Hatsakordzian told Reason Magazine she does not currently plan to vote for Biden and that in order to win back her vote, “he can sanction Azerbaijan, he can stop sending weapons to Azerbaijan, and take concrete actions to stop the genocide that is going on.”

POLITICO’s deep dive into California’s hotly contested Congressional race to fill Rep. Adam Schiff’s seat in Southern California spotlighted how the community’s frustration with President Biden’s failed Artsakh policy is playing a pivotal role there. The ANCA Programs Director Alex Galitsky told POLITICO, “Our community expects candidates to not only forcefully condemn Azerbaijan’s actions, but hold the Biden Administration to task for its ongoing refusal to impose consequences on Azerbaijan for its genocidal aggression against the Armenians of Artsakh.”

In January of this year, the ANCA launched the “Armenian American Swing State Project,” mobilizing voters of Armenian heritage in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin for the 2024 election.  ANCA demographic research shows that the number of Armenian voters in these states is sufficient to decide or impact outcomes, particularly in a hotly-contested, three-way race.

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