Uncommitted National Movement

The co-director of Uncommitted National Movement, Layla Elabed, is the younger sister of U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who endorsed the movement in February 2024. ²

Background

Uncommitted National Movement was inspired by the Listen to Michigan campaign, an effort to have voters vote “uncommitted” in the 2024 Democratic presidential primary in Michigan to pressure then-President Joe Biden to support a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. ^{1 3}

Uncommitted National Movement is sponsored by the Listen to Us PAC, and houses the project Listen to Michigan. The donation page for Listen to Michigan leads to the ActBlue page for Uncommitted National Movement. The webpage for Listen to Michigan also depicts Uncommitted National Movement’s masthead, stating that Uncommitted National Movement was inspired by Listen to Michigan. ³

In February 2024, Uncommitted National Movement was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). Tlaib is the older sister of Layla Elabed, the co-director of Uncommitted National Movement and the treasurer of the Listen to Us PAC, a sponsoring organization of the movement and the recipient of donations made to Uncommitted National Movement. ^{4 5 6}

As of February 2024, Listen to Michigan had received endorsements from 32 state and local officials. Listen to Michigan was also endorsed by Rep. Tlaib, former U.S. Representative Andy Levin (D-MI), and the Detroit Democratic Socialists of America.  ²

Activities

Uncommitted National Movement has undertaken projects to increase voter turnout of uncommitted voters in Michigan, Minnesota, Hawaii, Washington, Missouri, and Wisconsin. ⁷

Listen to Michigan urged voters to vote uncommitted in the 2024 Democratic National Primary to pressure President Joe Biden towards a ceasefire in Gaza. The campaign resulted in 101,000 uncommitted votes in the state’s primary. ⁷

Uncommitted National Movement efforts in Minnesota resulted in 19 percent of voters voting uncommitted in the 2024 Democratic National Primaries, and 11 delegates sent to the Democratic National Convention. ⁷

Similar efforts of Uncommitted National Movement in Hawaii resulted in 29 percent of the votes cast in the Democratic Primaries for uncommitted, and 7 delegates sent to the Democratic National Convention. ⁷

Uncommitted National Movement ran the Not Another Bomb campaign, an effort to push for an immediate ceasefire to the Israel-Hamas conflict and a lasting arms embargo on the State of Israel. ⁸ The goal of the campaign was to organize delegates at the 2024 Democratic National Convention to “pressure key elected officials at every level of government, labor leaders, and other prominent individuals and institutions to publicly call for an arms embargo.” ⁸

Funding

Donations to the Uncommitted National Movement are run through ActBlue, a Democratic Party-aligned fundraising service, and the donations go to Listen to Us PAC. ^{9 10}

As of September 2024, Uncommitted National Movement listed Arab Americans for Progress as a sponsor. ¹ Arab Americans for Progress gave $205,928 to Listen to Michigan in the 2024 election cycle. ¹¹

In the 2024 election cycle, Movement Voter Project, a clearinghouse for Democratic donors to contribute to Democratic-aligned political groups, gave $430,000 to Listen to Michigan. ¹¹

Leadership

Layla Elabed is a co-director of Uncommitted National Movement. ⁵ Elabed was also listed as the treasurer of the Listen to Us PAC, a sponsoring organization of National Uncommitted Movement. ⁶ Elabed has also been an organizer for We the People Michigan, and a coordinator for Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services. ⁵ Elabed is the younger sister of U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). ⁴

Abbas Alawieh was the spokesperson for Listen to Michigan. ⁴ Abbas formerly held senior staffer positions with U.S. Representatives Cori Bush (D-MO) and Tlaib and was a staffer for former Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI). Alawieh was a Michigan delegate to the 2024 Democratic National Convention. ^{12 13}