The New Immigrant Vote

new citizens, voter registration, and the upcoming election

Today I'm sharing an interesting news article on new citizens and the efforts to get out the vote. 

Fronteras 
http://www.fronterasdesk.org/news/2012/jun/20/new-immigrant-vote/#.T-N7DStYsyJ 

The New Immigrant Vote: After a record number of new citizens in 2008, 
how many immigrants are naturalizing this year?

By Jude Joffe-Block  

 

Here are some highlights:

  • This year naturalization applications are up 15 percent from last year.

  • An analysis by the Center for American Progress shows that legal permanent residents who are eligible to naturalize, along with unregistered Latino citizens of voting age, could have the potential to swing elections in Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Florida and Georgia.

  • Though naturalized citizens usually register to vote at lower rates than U.S.-born citizens, research shows that when they do register, their turnout rate is nearly identical.
  • Census estimates show the number of naturalized Americans registered to vote grew from 5.2 million in 1996 to 9.3 million in 2008, accounting for 6.4 percent of the electorate in 2008.