Those who watched the celebratory musical roll call at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago would have noticed several states, as they announced their votes, acknowledging the delegates who chose to vote for no one. But there were four states where the political leaders announcing the votes didn’t mention the dissent at all, including Kentucky.
“We are proud to cast 56 votes for the next president of the United States, Kamala Harris!” said Gov. Andy Beshear Tuesday night.
But Kentucky doesn’t have 56 votes. It has 59. One of Kentucky’s three uncommitted delegates, Violet Olds, said she had voted her conscience when she withheld her vote, and she was shocked to hear it go unacknowledged.
“I was just really overcome with emotion after the shock of not being represented,” Olds said. “I was so overcome with emotion that I literally fell in my seat, sobbing and shaking, and no one said a word to me.”
The Kentucky Democratic Party did not respond to a request for comment.
Tensions are roiling under the surface at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago as a small group of delegates chose not to support Vice President Kamala Harris at the convention over the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Fifty-two delegates across 18 different states voted “present” in the roll call. Their votes paled in comparison to the more than 4,000 delegates who put their weight behind Harris for the nomination.
But the so-called “uncommitted movement” has remained staunch that they cannot support Harris until she calls for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and an arms embargo on Israel.
Following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month, Harris said her commitment to Israel is “unwavering”, but that she would also not “be silent” about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The struggle between uncommitted delegates and party officials ramped up Wednesday night, when the convention officially informed them that their request for a Palestinian-American to speak during the primetime United Center events would go unheeded.
The parents of a 23-year-old American taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel spoke at the convention Wednesday night, calling for the release of hostages.
“We were honored to sit on the floor and hear from the family of Israeli hostages. They deserve a spot on the stage. But a Palestinian-American also deserves a spot on that stage,” said Jeremiah Ellison, a Minneapolis city councilman and uncommitted delegate at a sit-in protest. “The DNC is creating a hierarchy of whose life matters and whose doesn’t.”
The decision to not allow a Palestinian-American to speak on the main stage has also led to withdrawn support from Harris supporters. Muslim Women For Harris/Walz said in a statement Thursday they could no longer “in good conscience continue” the group.
“This is a terrible message to send to Democrats. Palestinians have the right to speak about Palestine,” the statement read.
The convention did hold a panel entitled “Voices for Justice: Democrats for Palestinian Human Rights” that was in the McCormick Place convention center Monday afternoon, but it was not on the main televised stage.
Olds said she was frustrated by the total unity Democrats were trying to convey at the convention.
“I'm out here trying to be a force for good, and it's really hard that the party that I now call my own is pushing back and telling us that we don't have a voice, while telling everybody on TV that we do,” Olds said.
Representatives for California, Minnesota and Pennsylvania also neglected to note there were dissent votes within their delegation. The Democratic National Convention ends Thursday evening.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
