ATLANTA— A new report released today by the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), SEIU, and Georgia local organizations reveals that over 96,000 newly naturalized Americans in the state, who naturalized between 2016 and 2020, could significantly influence the outcome of the 2022 midterm elections. This number exceeds over eight times the state’s November 2020 presidential election margin of victory and the 2021 Senate runoff election margin of 93,272 votes.
This voting bloc, called New American Voters, is racially and ethnically diverse, with a majority coming from Asia (37,773 or 39%) and the Americas (34,479 or 36%), followed by new citizens coming from Africa (15,510 or 16%). These groups respectively are larger than the 11,779-vote margin of victory during the November 2020 presidential election. The findings are based on
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) naturalization data from 2016 to 2020, as well as naturalization applications that the agency approved in 2021.
Recognizing this electoral power, NPNA and SEIU have partnered with the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta, CASA, the Center for Pan Asian Community Services (CPACS), Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO), and the Latino Community Fund Georgia to mobilize the newly naturalized citizens to increase voter registration and turnout rates through the New American Voters 2022 campaign.
“This campaign is non-partisan, strategically aimed at newly naturalized citizens in states where they reside in large numbers, like Georgia, to encourage them to vote and exercise their democratic rights. New American voters have the power to shape electoral outcomes, and will be drawn to the polls by a variety of issues, especially around the anti-immigrant sentiment and policies that continue to permeate our country. Voting is a fundamental right they can use to lift their voices and change the political landscape at the local, state, and national levels. We’re proud to team up with partners across Georgia to encourage civic engagement and promote a democracy that protects, represents, and works for all of us,” said Nicole Melaku, NPNA’s new Executive Director.
Some of the report’s key findings for the Georgia New American Voters include:
- This voting bloc is multiracial, multigenerational, geographically diverse, and majority female.
- Approximately 61% are under the age of 45 years.
- The number of newly naturalized citizens originally from India, 11,188, is nearly equal to the margin of victory during the November 2020 presidential election.
- The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metropolitan area has the highest concentration of total naturalized citizens in the state of Georgia, regardless of their naturalization year – over 480,000.
- Georgia ranks first in the New American Voters Impact Model, created by the NPNA and USIPC to showcase the potential electoral power of this critical voting bloc.
“New Americans are a force to be reckoned with and can be decisive in competitive elections. We are proud of the work we’ve done to register New Americans over the years and to get Georgia to where it is today. We will continue to build power for our community,” said Jerry González, GALEO Chief Executive Officer.
Voter suppression and other systemic barriers, including issues related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and language barriers, keep many eligible New American Voters from registering and exercising their voting right. Moreover, growing backlogs at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have created delays in processing citizenship applications: there are more than 23,500 pending applications in Atlanta, with processing times stretching up to 18 months.
“In 2010, Georgia became my home after migrating from Nicaragua, and I enrolled that year in the Gwinnett County Public School system. Throughout my educational career, voting was a very talked-about subject. Professional educators told us that our voices matter, which is why voting is important. In early 2020, I had the opportunity to begin my process of becoming a naturalized citizen. However, the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted my application process time. After waiting for over a year, I finally became a naturalized citizen in May 2021,” said Laura Campos, CASA member. “I call on other newly naturalized citizens like myself to vote during this year’s general election in Georgia and future elections to come. Those who cannot vote depend on us to make a positive change!”
The New American Voters campaign aims to Naturalize #2MillionBy2022; it is a partnership between the country’s leading immigrant, refugee advocacy, service organizations, cities and counties, as well as national advocacy organizations and unions. We are uniting to educate, empower and encourage eligible folks to take the final step on their immigration journey: to become U.S. citizens just in time to vote in this year’s midterm election on November 8, 2022.
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About the Report’s Contributors & Endorsers
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta (AAAJA) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) and other marginalized communities in Georgia and the Southeast. Learn more at www.advancingjustice-atlanta.org.
CASA is the foremost immigrant organization in the mid-Atlantic region and a national leader in supporting immigrant families and ensuring that all individuals have the core support necessary for full participation in society. With over 122,000 lifetime Latino, immigrant, and working-class members across 46 US states, CASA creates change with its powerbuilding model blending human services, community organizing, and advocacy in order to serve the full spectrum of the needs, dreams, and aspirations of members. Learn more at www.wearecasa.org.
The Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Inc. (CPACS) is a nonprofit organization located in Atlanta, Ga. Established as the first and largest Asian and Pacific Islander health and human service agency in the Southeast region. CPACS has been providing its core group of services to immigrant and refugee families in Georgia since 1980. Learn more at https://cpacs.org/
GALEO is a non-partisan non-profit organization based in Norcross, Georgia, founded in 2003. GALEO strives for a better Georgia where the Latinx community’s contributions civically. GALEO focuses on increasing civic participation of the Latinx community and developing prominent Latino leaders throughout Georgia. Learn more at www.galeo.org.
Latino Community Fund Georgia (LCF Georgia) is a 501(c)(3) membership organization supporting Latinx/Hispanic communities in Georgia. We are both a philanthropic intermediary and a direct service provider working with and within Georgia’s diverse communities. Learn more at www.lcfgeorgia.org.
The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is a national multiethnic, multiracial organization that represents 60 of the largest regional immigrant and refugee rights organizations in 40 states. Its members provide large-scale services for the communities, to leverage their collective power and expertise for a national strategy. Learn more at partnershipfornewamericans.org.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) unites 2 million diverse members in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. SEIU members working in the healthcare industry, in the public sector and in property services believe in the power of joining together on the job to win higher wages and benefits and to create better communities while fighting for a more just society and an economy that works for all of us, not just corporations and the wealthy. www.seiu.org
The U.S. Immigration Policy Center (USIPC) at UC San Diego conducts and supports rigorous social science research to advance understanding of the foundations and consequences of U.S. immigration policy. Immigration has played an integral role in American history and is sure to feature prominently in America’s future. But what should the immigration policies of our nation of immigrants be? The USIPC brings together leading academics, policy analysts, immigrant rights leaders, and policymakers across all levels of government to conceptualize, debate, and design a new U.S. immigration policy agenda that meets the demands of the 21st century. Learn more at https://usipc.ucsd.edu/
