In October last year, Mohamed Almawri joined the grassroots movement Listen to Michigan to demand the Biden administration pursue an arms embargo and a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. A Yemeni American, he was once fairly inactive politically. But when Listen to Michigan and similar appeals failed to lead to meaningful change—even after a glimmer of hope when Kamala Harris took over the Democratic ticket—he decided to become part of a bloc of Arab voters and cast a “conscience vote” in Michigan. For him, that means voting for Jill Stein.

“We’re going to make history as the Muslim community standing against a U.S.–funded genocide,” Almawri told me. “We’re holding this administration accountable,” he said, echoing many such voters who see Harris’ stance toward Israel as simply an extension of Joe Biden’s. (Harris has called for a cease-fire tied to hostage releases, but has not committed to ending U.S. aid for the war.)

We know now that Jill Stein was not ultimately the 2016 spoiler that sank Hillary Clinton in swing states. But this year, there’s reason to believe that the small but significant sliver of protest voters in states like Michigan, which is currently about as close as it can get in polling, could have a real impact on the election results.

And if this protest means Donald Trump becomes president again? Almawri, like many others I spoke to, says he’s fine with that.

“The value of defeating the Democratic Party makes Trump a price we’re willing to pay,” he said, quoting an imam from a recent sermon in Dearborn, where rallies and religious sermons have encouraged their communities to “conscience vote.” Like others, he believes casting a vote for a Democrat would be akin to supporting genocide, and that helping Trump win would send a stark message to Democrats. “Both parties are complicit. Trump, Biden—it doesn’t matter. But our vote can still mean something, and we intend to make it clear. When the administration won’t listen, the least we can do is vote in a way that forces them to see us.”

Sonia Rosen, a voter in Pennsylvania, told me she felt “mocked” by Harris’ approach to Democratic voters, a majority of whom, polls show, want to see a permanent cease-fire in place, as Harris continued to support Israel as it expanded its war into Lebanon.........

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