Arlington: Vote 'no preference' today, some town Democrats are urged
https://www.yourarlington.com/?view=article&id=22033:flier-030424&catid=144
UPDATED March 5: The no-preference option that recently drew an estimated 100,000 "uncommitted" voters among Democrats in Michigan appears to have come to Arlington.
Nearing Super Tuesday, some town residents appear to have received texts, emails and fliers urging them to avoid voting for President Joseph R. Biden in the primary election.
"Vote no preference on Tuesday, March 5. Your Vote is Your Voice. Speak Up to End the Genocide," the flier says and includes this web address -- tinyurl.com/VoteNoPrefMa.
The text from Vote No Preference MA says that "by casting a 'No Preference' vote on March 5th, we in Massachusetts aim to convey a firm message to our President demanding a ceasefire and an end to financing Israel’s war crimes and genocide in Gaza."
That message, which led to large local rallies last weekend, including one in Cambridge, reflects anger toward Biden's role in a conflict that has taken an estimated 30,000 Gazan lives and more than 1,400 Israeli lives.
Local attorney shares view
The flier came too late for Deborah Sirotkin Butler, an attorney. She had already voted.
Despite that, she called it "election interference." She commented to YourArlington: "I don't know if I was targeted because I light a menorah during Hanukkah and sometimes have decorations indicating my heritage. I felt and still feel a sense of insecurity and targeted."
She added: "I would love if the coverage encouraged people to vote .... I admit my heart is still beating a bit more quickly. This is upsetting."
Asked whether fliers had been left elsewhere in her neighborhood, she wrote, "I did not go out and look at doorknobs."
She wrote that she found the flier sometime after 8 Sunday night and before 6 Monday morning. She wrote that the digital security camera that she had had installed after Oct. 7-- the day of the Hamas attack on Israel resulting in more than 1,000 deaths -- activated, showing what looked like a child affixing the flier.
She has reported the matter to Arlington police.
Others respond
A request to the Arlington Email List on Monday, March 4, asking whether anyone had received an appeal to avoid voting for Biden led to these responses, among others:
An East Arlington resident wrote that she had "tossed it in [to] my recycling, as today is our trash pickup, so I no longer have it. (I also am not shy about saying I disagree with it. While I strongly believe there should be an immediate ceasefire -- I also believe that there are many issues at stake in this year's election, and now is not the time to be a one-issue voter)."
Other residents wrote that they did not get a flier but did get texts and emails from from the same organization.
Yet another reported having seen a similar poster on a telephone pole by Trader Joe's.