At the time of writing this piece, the United States is less than a week away from electing its new president. On 5 November, Americans will cast their ballots and polls show a neck-and-neck contest between Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. Like other Americans, Bangladeshi Americans, from California to New York, are enthusiastic about the 2024 US Presidential Election and look forward to exercising one of their most important rights.

I call myself a Muslim American and a Bangladeshi American, and although these two groups have traditionally voted for the Democratic Party, this time the scenario looks quite different. To find out and understand what the Bangladeshi diaspora is thinking about the 2024 US Presidential Election, I spoke to Bangladeshi Muslim Americans from diverse backgrounds.

Gaza War

As taxpayers, the Bangladeshi Americans I have spoken to think that they cannot support an unequal war that is funded by their tax dollars; the US government gives Israel approximately $3.8 billion in aid support every year. There is also another war that is currently being funded with American taxpayers' money, the Russia-Ukraine war. As of October 2024, the US Congress has appropriated $174.2 billion in supplemental funding for Ukraine.

Asked if the war in Gaza will influence how she votes in 2024, Samia Ahmed, a biomedical engineer and a resident of California, said, "Yes, my family and I will vote for a third party this time and it is because of the Gaza issue."

Bangladeshi American voters find it unacceptable that their tax dollars are being used to finance the Gaza war.

Ilaf Sattar, a higher education administrator and a New Jersey resident said, "As a parent, the deaths of thousands of Palestinian children shatter my heart. As a human being, the atrocities and denial of basic human rights against Palestinians shake me to the core. As an American, it's horrifying to think that my tax dollars are supporting a genocide."

Sattar thinks that the American foreign policy towards Israel will likely remain unchanged, no matter who sits in the country's highest office. "The unfortunate reality is that once again, we are choosing between the lesser of two evils," she said.

Neither Donald Trump nor Kamala Harris put forward any realistic plans to end the conflict in Gaza and make a better future for the Palestinians. American voters, who are aggrieved by the ongoing genocide in Gaza, are considering third-party candidates like Jill Stein of the Green Party and Cornel West, an independent presidential candidate.

For the first time, many Bangladeshi Americans, who never voted for anyone other than Democratic and Republican nominees, are likely to vote for third-party candidates.

However, voters like Mozammel Khan think that voting for a third party is equivalent to wasting a vote because such a vote will have no impact on the outcome of the election. A New York City resident and manager at a 7-Eleven store, he said that his friends, colleagues, and family are all voting for Trump in 2024. They are not voting for Trump because they wholeheartedly support his policies, but because they think that Trump is the better of the two.

"I voted for the Democratic Party in 2020. We gave them an opportunity. However, I am dissatisfied with how they performed over the last four years. There is no way I can make myself vote for them again," he said. 

For Khan, inflation is a big issue in not voting for the Democrats this time. "Why can we send billions of dollars to Israel but not provide free universal healthcare or have cheaper groceries?" he said.

Khan thinks that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans will bring justice to the Palestinians, but with Trump in the White House, the world might be a slightly better place to live.

"Harris will be no different from Biden. Her opposing views on Ukraine compared to Gaza show a clear bias towards Europeans and neglect for the lives of Arabs," Khan said.

Like Mozammel Khan, Ilaf Sattar also thinks that voting for a third party is not impactful. However, as an opponent of Trump, Sattar thinks that a third-party vote will only push Trump closer to a win, which means paving the way for a more bigoted, divided, and intolerant America.

Dissatisfaction with the major political parties

Bangladeshi Americans have traditionally voted for the Democratic Party and a shift from that voting behaviour might become apparent.

Shama Ahmed, a Minnesota resident and first-time voter, said, "Because of the current administration's role in the Gaza war, I know for sure that I will not vote for Kamala Harris. What I am unsure about is whether I will vote for Donald Trump or a third-party candidate."

Like Shama Ahmed, Syed Rashed Zaman is also a first-time voter. A Minnesota resident, Zaman said, "I am reluctant to vote for either of the two major political parties because my principles do not align with their policies."

Voting is an action, which is why every vote matters. Voting a third party will not sway the election, because most voters will stick to Democratic and Republican nominees. However, people who vote for third parties often do so as a protest and to bring the attention of major political parties to issues that are otherwise overlooked.

"For the first time, I will vote for a candidate who does not belong to either of the two major political parties. After having lived in this country for more than 20 years now, I think that the two big parties do not have the welfare of the common man in mind, they always give in to the wishes of the big political donors," said Asif Hossain, a Delaware resident.

Razia Sultana, a retiree and Florida resident, has been voting in US elections since 1997. Sultana says that this is the first time she will not vote for the Democratic Party. Her vote will go to a third party this time.

"I have been voting for the Democratic Party since 1997. But in 2024, I will not vote for the Democrats because I do not see a strong leader in Kamala Harris. She is not strong and qualified enough to lead a country like the US," Sultana said.

Still undecided

Not all Bangladeshi Americans have decided on their favoured presidential candidate. There are voters out there who are still undecided about who they will vote for in 2024.

Ilaf Sattar thought about not voting at all in 2024 because she knows that her heart will not let her vote for Harris and her mind will not let her vote for Trump. However, she believes that abstaining from voting or voting for a third party will only increase Trump's chance of winning in 2024 — a thought that is frightening to her. 

"Under a misogynist like Trump, a Muslim, educated, immigrant woman like me is seen as the ultimate threat and my voice will be silenced," Sattar said. "While voting for Kamala Harris might not leave my conscience completely clear it will at least help protect my First Amendment right to freedom of speech."

However, Sattar has not yet decided who she will actually vote for this time. And, if she cannot decide by Election Day, she will not cast a vote for any of the presidential candidates and leave it blank. "I might just vote for the state legislative seats, and leave the presidential portion of the ballot blank," she said.

The American citizens will be exercising one of their most important rights on 5 November. The world will be watching the process closely because the American presidential election is of monumental importance; who the Americans elect as their next president will not only influence America but also the world.

Disclaimer: Some of the names have been changed to protect identities