New York’s Democratic and Republican presidential primaries resulted in overwhelming success for President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump — both parties’ presumptive nominees.

Despite his win, many Democratic voters across the state opted to submit blank ballots as a protest vote against Biden’s Middle Eastern foreign policy. Of the 302,609 total Democratic votes, around 12 percent were blank, meaning none of the candidates were selected. In the 19th Congressional District — which includes Binghamton — 9.4 percent of Democrats submitted blank ballots with 100 percent of the vote tallied. In 2020, only 1.0 percent of Democrats did so in Broome County.

Voter turnout decreased during this year’s largely uncompetitive primary — only 3,107 Democrats voted in Broome County this year compared to 13,487 in 2020, excluding “blank” or “void” votes.

The Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) at Binghamton University, which strives to foster dialogue and engagement on campus through nonpartisan voting programs, described their contributions to the increase in student voting at the University.

“We have seen meaningful increases in voter registration and turnout rates over the past several election cycles, including a 16-percentage-point increase in our student voting rate from the 2016 to the 2020 presidential elections,” a CCE representative wrote. “While youth turnout was up across the nation in 2020, [BU’s] increase outpaced the national average, showing the impact of efforts by the CCE, student leaders and campus partners to make voting accessible for our students.”

Primary elections were also held in Wisconsin, Rhode Island and Connecticut. In the Republican contests in New York, Trump won over 80 percent of the total vote, while former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley trailed behind taking almost 13 percent. Biden won over 80 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary with between eight and 15 percent of the vote being “uncommitted” in states where that was an option.

The “Leave It Blank” campaign, inspired by similar initiatives in other states like Michigan and Minnesota, has won over 370,000 votes nationwide and at least 20 delegates for the upcoming Democratic National Convention. The initiatives are designed to pressure Biden into calling for an immediate and permanent cease-fire in Gaza and ending United States military aid to Israel. In New York, it was endorsed by various state legislators and grassroots organizations, including the Working Families Party, the Muslim Democratic Club of New York and Jewish Voice for Peace.

“We do not believe that this campaign will make significant inroads within the Democratic Party,” wrote David Brennan, the treasurer of BU’s College Democrats and a senior majoring in political science. “It has not gained significant support in many states and will only serve a small percentage of delegates during the 2024 convention. After all, Biden was able to easily win after a competitive primary with serious [in-party] conflict during the early months of 2020. We overall support Biden’s Gaza policies due to his advocacy for a cease-fire and focus on providing aid to civilians. This is the best approach to create stability in the future.”

The College Republicans declined to comment.

Biden has since attempted to distance himself from Israel rhetorically and diplomatically, rebuking Israel for not taking enough measures to protect aid workers after the nation killed over seven World Central Kitchen aid group workers in Gaza and abstaining from voting on a temporary cease-fire resolution at the UN Security Council.

Broome County Democratic Committee chairwoman Karen Beebe acknowledged voters’ concerns but said she believes Biden’s policy is shifting due to pressure from the Working Families Party and protesters.

“I do believe that we will see a response from [Biden] with those numbers,” Beebe said. “He is a good human being, and I know he understands what’s happening is an atrocity. I think the fact that since voters do not support what’s happening, he will hear that and he will listen, and I believe his policies will reflect that going forward.”