A new report has found that Republicans could see a boost in support from a demographic that rarely shows up to vote at the polls on election days.
The New York Post reported on Tuesday that the “Pennsylvania Dutch” community in Pennsylvania has registered to vote in “unprecedented numbers” in response to a January federal raid on a local raw milk farm in Bird in Hand, Pennsylvania.
According to Lancaster Farming, a local media outlet, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture stormed Amos Miller’s farm on Jan. 4 after reports of illnesses in children linked to raw dairy products purchased there.
The report from the Post, which cited a source familiar with the matter, noted that because of the raid, the Amish community was planning to vote for GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump. The reasoning for the support for Trump is because they feel his party favors less government intervention and they viewed the raid as an overreach by the government.
“That was the impetus for them to say, ‘We need to participate,’” the source said of local Amish voters. “This is about neighbors helping neighbors.”
Miller said that his religious beliefs played a part in him not adhering to Food and Drug Administration guidelines, resulting in his community rallying behind him.
“If you think about Amish people and their connection to nature, I mean, some of these people work in the fields barefoot to be closer to the earth,” the source told The Post.
The Post reported that horse and buggies were photographed and seen at polling locations throughout the region, but the number of Amish voters who turned out was unclear as of Tuesday night.