Why is Donald Trump targeting the Amish vote in Pennsylvania?    We haven't been able to take paymentYou must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription.Update payment detailsAct now to keep your subscriptionWe've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription.Update payment detailsYour subscription is due to terminateWe've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account, otherwise your subscription will terminate. Update payment detailsMore from The Times and The Sunday TimesTap 'Menu' and then 'Explore'Tap 'Menu' and then 'Explore'DismissAccessibility LinksSkip to contentSearchHomeUKWorldCommentBusiness & MoneySportLife & StyleCulturePuzzlesMagazinesLoginSubscribeLog inSubscribeHomeUKWorldCommentBusiness & MoneySportLife & StyleCulturePuzzlesMagazines Video IconUS ELECTION DISPATCHWhy is Donald Trump targeting the Amish vote in Pennsylvania?The religious community traditionally abstains from taking part in elections, but Republicans believe their votes could be crucial in the US presidential electionHenry Stoltz, a vegetable farmer, has registered to vote but has not decided who forPETE KIEHART FOR THE TIMESTom Newton Dunn, PennsylvaniaWednesday October 16 2024, 12.00pm, The TimesTraditionally the Amish do not vote. In the past they wanted little to do with government, believing instead that they serve the higher kingdom of God.Now, among this deeply religious community known for rejecting modern technology, the attitude to politics is changing and the “Amish vote” has been relentlessly targeted in one of America’s swing states. “Trump has some good ideas, especially on the economy,” Henry Stoltz, an Amish vegetable farmer, said. “But you see, I don’t like his morals.”• ‘Ice baby’ Susie Wiles appointed as chief of staffKamala Harris addressed a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, at the weekendEVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERSStoltz, 45, who sells the pumpkins, apples, potatoes and squash that he grows at a country market in Manheim, Pennsylvania, is a member of the Trump campaign’s latest target demographic — one that it believes could put the former president back in the White House.Pennsylvania is the most hotly contested state in the run up to next month’s election, and, with 19 electoral college votes, the most coveted. Overall victory is considered very unlikely for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris if they fail to win here.AdvertisementJoe Biden won the state by 80,000 votes in 2020, and 90,000 Amish live in Pennsylvania — many of them in the, traditionally Republican, Lancaster County. • Electoral college map 2024Could the Amish swing the election?“The Amish could make all the difference this year, big time,” Ryan Sexton, a Trump supporter, said at a voter registration stand 20 metres away from from Stoltz’s stall. “We’re seeing a lot more enthusiasm from them this time, they give us the thumbs up when they pass by,” added Sexton, who leads the Republican Early Vote Action group in the county.“I don’t think it’s going to be tight at all in Pennsylvania, I think Trump is going to win by two or three points. We’ll take the state, because we’re registering so many more folk than the Democrats this time,” Sexton said. “We signed up 22,000 last week, the Dems only did 9,000. We’re destroying them.”• What will happen if Trump wins?AdvertisementThe Old Mill Flea Market in Manheim, where Early Vote Action has been registering votersPETE KIEHART FOR THE TIMESSexton and his team said they register between 15 and 20 Amish at the market every Tuesday. The Republican group attempts to persuade this small minority with the promise of smaller government and a passionate defence of their religious freedoms.Another motivator is the story of the local Amish dairy farmer Amos Miller, whose farm was raided in January for selling unpasteurised milk. Miller was banned from selling raw milk anywhere in the state by a judge, and became a cause célèbre for his community. Early Vote Action were also at Miller’s trial to register his Amish supporters outside the courthouse. “The milk story really upset them,” Sexton said. “They hate the idea of the government interfering with their right to sell what they want.”• Pennsylvania results: live trackerThe group has printed hundreds of “Amish for Trump” yard signs. In Manheim they’re popular among regular locals but not with the Amish. The community is famously shy, and also almost never poses for photographs, believing it is against an instruction in the Ten Commandments to never make idols.AdvertisementThe Amish settled in Pennsylvania in the 18th century to escape religious persecution in Switzerland and Germany. Their Protestant interpretation of the Bible states they must live separately from society to preserve the purity of their beliefs. Many still shun modern life and the technological advancements of the last 300 years, including cars, and prefer to get around in pony-driven buggies. An Amish man, who declined to give his name but consented to being photographed, is one of the 40,000 who could potentially swing the electionPETE KIEHART FOR THE TIMESAnother Amish man, in his twenties, runs the Fairland coffee and bakery stand at Roots market with his wife and sister. The man, who didn’t want to give his name, told The Times that, like Stoltz, he had registered to vote this year. “I will vote and I’ve decided who I’m going to vote for, but it’s a private thing so I’d rather not say if you don’t mind,” he added.Early Vote Action’s founder is the colourful and controversial Trump activist Scott Presler. A close confidante of Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara, who co-chairs the Republican National Committee, Presler was one of the warm-up speakers for Trump at his return to Butler in western Pennsylvania last month. Scott Presler addresses a campaign rally for Donald Trump at the Butler Farm show in Pennsylvania alongside Eric and Lara TrumpJULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON/AP“Pennsylvania’s Democrat governor Josh Shapiro is waging a war on school choice and religious freedom, and small businesses, and raw milk, and farmers,” Presler told The Megyn Kelly Show on SiriusXM last week. “Every aspect of Amish living is under attack, so we meet the Amish where they are.”AdvertisementPresler also claims to have a list of 13,000 Amish addresses, and is posting leaflets and voter registration forms to them. Registration in Pennsylvania closes next week.Steven Nolt is professor of history and Anabaptist studies at Elizabethtown College, 15 miles from Manheim, and runs its Amish studies courses. He has tracked the Amish vote for years and doubts some of the Trump campaign’s bolder claims.As the average Amish couple has six children, half of Pennsylvania’s 90,000 Amish are under the age of 18 and unable to vote, Nolt pointed out. In the 2016 presidential election, he calculated that just 7 per cent of the state’s Amish voted but has also found that since then the number has been steadily climbing.Experts doubt that the Amish vote will decide the election in favour of Donald TrumpSPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES“Anecdotally, I have no doubt that more Amish folks will vote this year than have in the past,” Nolt said. “The outreach to them is the strongest it’s been for years and that has an effect. Amish vote overwhelmingly Republican, so there may be a few thousand more votes for Trump there.Advertisement“I’m just dubious that there really are the numbers to make that much of a difference, and some of the claims made by the likes of Mr Presler really boggles the mind. But we’re all expecting a close election in Pennsylvania so I guess it all depends on the size of the margin of victory.”How will Stoltz, the Amish farmer at the market, vote? “I registered because they asked me to,” he said. “I thought ‘well, it gives me the option to vote if I want to’. Maybe I’ll vote for Trump but the truth is I haven’t decided yet.“If our bishops told us to go and vote then that would influence me, but they haven’t yet. They’re still saying we should keep out of it.”WorldRelated articlesVideo IconVIDEOTrump appoints ‘ice maiden’ as first female chief of staffNovember 08 2024, 2.15amPeter Chappell | David Rose | Bruno Waterfield, Budapest | Alistair Dawber, Washington Correspondent | Harriet Alexander | Joshua Thurston | Samer al-Atrush, Middle East Correspondent | Ben Cooke | Damian Whitworth | Joey D'Urso | Marc Bennetts | Keiran SouthernPROMOTED CONTENTBack to topGet in touchAbout usContact usHelpThe Times Editorial ComplaintsThe Sunday Times Editorial ComplaintsPlace an announcementClassified advertisingDisplay advertisingThe Times correctionsThe Sunday Times correctionsCareersMore from The Times and The Sunday TimesThe Times e-paperThe Sunday Times e-paperThe Sunday Times Wine ClubTimes Print GalleryThe Times ArchiveTimes Crossword ClubSunday Times DrivingTimes+The Sunday Times Rich ListTravelGood University GuideSchools GuideNewslettersBest Places to LiveBest Places to StayTimes AppointmentsPodcastsTimes Money MentorTimes LuxurySportswomen of the Year AwardsBest Places to WorkPuzzlesMore from News CorpThe AustralianBarron'sDow JonesFinancial News LondonInvestor's Business DailyMansion GlobalMarketWatchRealtor.comThe SunTimes Literary SupplementThe Wall Street Journal© Times Media Limited 2025.Registered in England No. 894646. 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Because the Amish are pissed at the government for interfering in their business. There have been recent lawsuits against Amish organic farms and raw milk sellers for not complying with government regulations. The Amish hate that and are registering to vote in higher numbers than in previous elections in response. I wouldn't laugh at this group, there's a ton of Amish and if they all came out of the woodwork to vote Republican it could tip the scales.