On the frontlines of the drive to sign up new voters at citizenship ceremonies

Every morning for the last five months, 86-year-old Meichan Fang’s first order of business had been to study for the U.S. citizenship test. “First thing, she reads,” said her daughter Sue, smiling. “And then [again], before bed.” 

Meichan’s hard work paid off – she passed the exam last Wednesday and was officially sworn in at the United States Customs and Immigrations Services (USCIS) office off of Parklake Drive, next to Northlake Mall. She had moved from China to Suwanee 15 years ago to be closer to her daughter. 

She felt “happy, very happy… excited,” said Sue, interpreting for her mom, who was clutching a small U.S. flag. Just moments earlier, Meichan had been handed her naturalization certificate from a USCIS officer (herself an immigrant from Jamaica). Now Meichan plans to take advantage of a right that only American citizens have. She said she will vote for the current vice president, Kamala Harris. 

She was one of dozens of people who had come into the office that day for their citizenship interview, and (if they passed), their oath ceremony. They came from countries from all over the world including China, Panama and India. Now they live in places like Suwanee, Lawrenceville and Stone Mountain.

As they sat in orderly rows under fluorescent lights, a short video played. It showed inspiring quotes and photos of immigrants, along with iconic images of the U.S. like the Lincoln Memorial and Mount Rushmore. A track of triumphant music reverberated off the tile floors and the brown-painted walls. Then in unison, they recited the Oath of Allegiance. At that moment they became America’s newest citizens. 

And in less than two months, they’ll also be able to cast a ballot in the November presidential elections. 

It used to take about a year or longer to go through the naturalization process. Now it’s taking just a few short months. That, coupled with the access that voter registration groups have been given to citizenship ceremonies has meant a rapid rise in the number of new Americans who will have access to the ballot box this election season.

This year, voter groups in Georgia have helped register over 9,000 people after their citizenship ceremonies, said Whitney Kweskin of New American Pathways (NAP), a nonprofit that is part of ProGeorgia, a coalition of organizations doing voter engagement work.  That’s a huge increase from last year, when they registered around 1,500 people, she said. By the end of this year, she expects they’ll register a total of 12,000 New Americans.

Almost immediately after receiving their certificates, Meichan and the others were greeted by volunteers, ready with clipboards. They were able to usher the majority of the newly naturalized citizens into a waiting room where they gave them voter registration forms to fill out and made copies of their certificates.

In swing states where races are tight, this demographic could play an “outsized” role in November’s presidential election, according to Nicole Melaku, Executive Director of the National Partnership for New Partnership (NPNA), a national nonprofit that works to drive up civic participation among immigrants. In Georgia, more than 86,000 people have become U.S. citizens since the last presidential election, with Mexico, India, Jamaica, and Vietnam the top origin countries for the new citizens.

Under the Biden administration, USCIS processed a record number of citizenship applications in 2023, swearing in over 878,500 people and reducing the overall backlog by 15 percent, according to a press release from the agency. Processing times are almost half of what they have been in previous years.

Nationwide, immigrants are twice as likely to identify with the views of the Democratic party, according to a 2023 survey by the Los Angeles Times and KFF.

“There’s this whole community wide-effort across the country from folks who are really invested in making sure that those who are newly minted with citizenship are able to activate their voice in this year’s presidential election,” said Nicole of NPNA.

That effort was operating with machine-like efficiency on Wednesday. In two back to back ceremonies, each under 20 minutes, Georgia residents lined up, handed in their green cards, listened to a brief orientation from a USCIS officer, and heard from a volunteer about voter registration. 

Volunteers show up to ceremonies four or five times a week, registering around 75 percent of the new citizens, said Whitney. And the registration is fast. “We can get through 50 people in 20 minutes.”

“I feel very happy,” said a young Burmese woman on Wednesday, just after submitting her voter registration paperwork. She moved here six years ago and lives in Stone Mountain. She said, between giggles, that she was planning to vote for Donald Trump because she likes him. 

Jackie Macias, a Clayton County resident who moved here from Panama when she was 11-years-old, said she was feeling “proud to be an American,” after she registered. She was also excited, and “a little scared” about the upcoming election. “I’m voting for Kamala Harris. I like the things that she’s saying. And she’s a woman of color. I don’t know who would look out for us better. I feel like it’s the best option we have right now.”  The scary part, she said, was “just the outcome of people not voting. Not registering.” 

She’s hoping her mom will become a citizen soon too, so she can vote in this election.  “Her fear is passing the civics test,” she said. 

Mr. Abdur Razzak sat in a waiting room. His citizenship interview and test was in 30 minutes. “I’m not nervous. I’m serious,” he insisted multiple times. He moved to the U.S.  from Bangladesh five years ago to be closer to his parents and brother. “I want to vote. November is coming.”