It was a breath of relief for many Americans when President-elect Donald Trump won Pennsylvania on Election Day. But that victory might have never been if not for the Amish and Republicans’ unyielding push for their vote.
The Amish have a history of avoiding election participation, making the exclusionary group’s record turnout this year even more striking.
Fewer than 10 percent of Amish in Pennsylvania ever vote, and most usually aren’t even registered, according to the Associated Press.
They also face a practical problem when it comes to voting.
The deeply traditional Amish host their weddings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, making voting on Election Day logistically difficult if not impossible.
But this year was different, thanks to a number of compelling reasons that drove the “Pennsylvania Dutch” to the polls.
Amish farmer Amos Miller was likely one such reason.
On Jan. 4, state troopers raided Miller’s farm, seizing a variety of his edible products. Miller was accused of not being in compliance with food safety regulations, according to Newsweek.
Weeks later, the state of Pennsylvania sued Miller for selling raw milk and other “unregulated” products, saying they were a danger to public health.
The incident became a rallying point for the Amish, driving voter registration to “unprecedented numbers,” a source told the New York Post.
“That was the impetus for them to say, ‘We need to participate,’” the source said. “This is about neighbors helping neighbors.”
The Amish are out in full force voting for Trump in PA pic.twitter.com/ugfaczuLOz
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) November 5, 2024
Conservative groups in Pennsylvania with boots on the ground were another reason for the large Amish turnout.
At least one group in particular offered car rides to the Amish, driving them straight from their weddings to the polls, according to the New York Post.
“This was a missionary effort to reach an unreached people,” said organizer Liesa Burwell-Perry.
Burwell-Perry estimated that 200 volunteers shuttled roughly 26,000 people on Nov. 5, one of the highest Amish turnouts in recent history.
It’s estimated that in 2020, only 2,000 to 3,000 Amish voted, according to The Telegraph.
Conservative activist Scott Presler also played an integral vote in getting the Amish to vote.
In 2020, Pennsylvania was decided by 80,000 votes.
Wisconsin was decided by 20,000 votes.
There are 80,000 Amish in PA & 20,000 in WI.
My org. @EarlyVoteAction is courting the Amish vote.
The Amish could literally save Western civilization.#NationalVoterRegistrationDay pic.twitter.com/gNNIFSduVc
— ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) September 17, 2024
Presler and his organization Early Vote Action posted up in Amish markets every Friday in Pennsylvania, encouraging farmers to vote for Trump.
“I even milked a cow at an Amish farm by hand,” Presler told The Telegraph. “I was sitting on the smallest stool known to humanity.”
“As someone who’s 6 foot 5, milking a cow amongst all of these other cows it shows you, there’s no secret to what we do — show up, show your heart, ask for a vote, get them registered. And I think that’s why we are so successful.”
Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk also played an integral part in getting the Amish vote.
Musk’s America PAC spent $200 million to help elect Trump, most of that money coming from Musk himself, the AP reported.
In an Election Day interview with Tucker Carlson at Mar-a-Lago, Musk talked about his super PAC’s focus on the Amish community in Pennsylvania.
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“There was some government overreach that shut down some Amish farmers, which really made them pretty upset,” Musk told Carlson, referring to the Miller case. “You just need to be able to channel the fact that they’re upset: ‘Well, there’s a thing you can do about it, which is called voting.’”
“They’re allowed to ride in vans, so long as they’re not driving the van,” Musk added. “So, we bring them to the polls and they vote how they want to vote.”
In the end, the Amish were a small but crucial part of a new coalition of fed-up Trump voters: an assortment of new communities who, contrary to their voting history, made their way to the polls and voted Republican.
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