You’ve probably seen the videos by now. Horse-drawn buggies lined up at polling stations in rural Pennsylvania, men in straw hats standing patiently next to digital voting machines, and a sudden surge of "Amish for Trump" signs popping up in places like Lancaster County. It’s a wild image. Honestly, it’s one of those things that seems like a glitch in the simulation. Why would a community that famously shuns "the world" and its technology suddenly dive headfirst into the chaotic waters of a modern presidential election?
For decades, the standard story was simple: the Amish don't vote. They live by a "two-kingdom" theology, believing their primary citizenship is in heaven, not Washington D.C. They pay their taxes and follow the laws, but when it comes to picking a leader, they usually leave that to the "English" (their term for non-Amish). But in 2024, something shifted. The numbers tell a story of "unprecedented" participation, and while they didn’t suddenly become a massive voting bloc of millions, their localized impact was felt in a big way.
The Raw Milk Raid That Changed Everything
If you want to understand why Amish people voting for Trump became such a huge talking point, you have to look at a farm in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. In early 2024, state agriculture officials raided the farm of Amos Miller. The issue? Raw milk and other unpasteurized dairy products.
Now, to an outsider, this looks like a standard health code violation. To the Amish and many of their libertarian-leaning neighbors, it looked like a declaration of war. They saw it as the government reaching into a private farm to tell a man what he could and couldn’t sell to his own community.
This raid acted like a lightning bolt. It turned the theoretical idea of "government overreach" into a very real, very tangible problem. Conservative activists, most notably Scott Presler and his group Early Vote Action, saw this frustration and ran with it. They didn't just show up with pamphlets; they set up registration tables at places like the Green Dragon Farmers Market in Ephrata and Roots Country Market in Manheim. They spoke the language of the community, focusing on:
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- Farming Rights: The right to produce and sell food without heavy-handed regulation.
- Religious Freedom: The ability to live according to their conscience without state interference.
- Economic Independence: Protecting small, family-owned businesses from "big government" red tape.
Basically, the raid on Amos Miller gave the Amish a reason to care about who was in the White House. They weren't voting for Trump because they loved his personality or his tweets; they were voting because they felt the other side was coming for their way of life.
Breaking Down the 2024 Numbers
Let's get real about the statistics for a second. There’s a lot of hype online, with some people claiming hundreds of thousands of Amish voted. That’s just not true.
The total Amish population in Pennsylvania is around 90,000, but that includes children. Only about half are of voting age. Historically, turnout has been tiny. In 2020, experts like Steven Nolt from Elizabethtown College estimated that only about 3,000 Amish voted in Lancaster County.
What was different this time?
While we are still waiting on finalized data that cross-references church directories with voter rolls, early reports from the 2024 cycle suggest a massive percentage increase. We aren't talking about 100,000 votes, but we might be looking at 5,000 to 10,000 new voters in a state where the margins are often razor-thin.
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In Lancaster County alone, Trump won about 57% of the vote. The Republican strategy was to "find" votes in places they usually overlook. By moving the needle even a few thousand votes in deep-red rural pockets, they offset the massive leads Democrats usually build in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It was a game of inches, and the Amish helped gain those inches.
The "Business Amish" Factor
There’s another layer to this that most people miss. The Amish aren't just farmers anymore. Because land has become so expensive in Pennsylvania, many families have transitioned into running small businesses—construction crews, cabinet making, quilt shops, and furniture stores.
Rep. Lloyd Smucker, who was born into an Amish family himself, has pointed out that this "new generation" of Amish business owners is much more politically engaged. When you own a construction company, you care about fuel prices for your diesel generators. You care about the cost of lumber. You care about the regulations on your workshop.
Trump’s "America First" and deregulatory platform hits different when you’re trying to run a shop without a traditional power grid. They see the GOP as the party of "leave us alone," and for the Amish, that’s the most attractive promise a politician can make.
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Is This a Permanent Shift?
It’s tempting to say the Amish have officially joined the Republican base, but it's more complicated than that. Many elders still feel that voting is a compromise of their faith. They worry that getting involved in politics leads to pride, division, and a loss of their humble, separate identity.
But the 2024 election proved that the "silent" community can be motivated if they feel their core values are under attack. The use of mail-in ballots also played a huge role. In the past, going to a public polling place felt "showy" or worldly. Voting by mail allows for a level of privacy that fits much better with the Amish desire for humility.
Key Takeaways from the 2024 Amish Turnout
If you’re trying to wrap your head around how this group influenced the election, here are the main points:
- Hyper-Local Issues Matter: The Amos Miller raid was the single biggest catalyst for registration.
- The "Ground Game" Worked: Activists went to the markets where the Amish already were, rather than waiting for them to come to town.
- The Margin of Victory: In a swing state like Pennsylvania, an extra 5,000 to 10,000 votes in rural counties is a massive strategic win.
- Privacy is Key: Mail-in voting removed the social "stigma" of being seen at a polling booth.
What to Keep an Eye On
If you want to see if this trend continues, keep an eye on how the new administration handles agricultural regulations. If the pressure on small farms and raw milk producers eases up, the Amish might feel their "experiment" with voting was a success. On the flip side, if they feel ignored once the election is over, they might just go back to their traditional stance of non-participation.
For now, the story of the 2024 election isn't just about big cities and suburbs. It’s about the quietest people in the country deciding that, for once, they needed to be heard.
Your next steps for staying informed:
Check the official 2024 certified election results for Lancaster County, PA, to see the final precinct-level turnout data. You can also follow the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College, as they typically release the most authoritative post-election reports on Amish voting patterns several months after the vote.