Citizens-only ballot measures make newly naturalized Americans voting for the first time feel on edge
For newly naturalized Americans voting for the first time, such a milestone is being marred by state ballot measures critics say are based on false narratives about noncitizens voting in large numbers.
After recently becoming U.S. citizens and registering to vote, Roselia Navarro of Wisconsin and Halley Ji-Zhang of North Carolina will be voting for the first time this November.
They will share other similarities: Each will be voting in a battleground state. They will also each come across state ballot measures seeking to reiterate that only U.S. citizens can vote in state and local elections, even though it’s already illegal for noncitizens to vote in elections in these states as well as at the federal level — and illegal voting rarely happens.
Navarro and Ji-Zhang are among the more than 3.5 million citizens naturalized since 2020 who have become eligible to vote. They join more than 23 million naturalized citizens who were eligible voters in the last presidential election.
In the swing states where they reside, voters like Navarro and Ji-Zhang could be consequential. The number of immigrants eligible to become naturalized U.S. citizens, and therefore register to vote, has continued to grow in recent years, according to the American Immigration Council, a legal nonprofit advocating for immigrant rights.
Though overall turnout among naturalized voters has been lower than among U.S.-born voters, participation rates of naturalized Latino and Asian American voters have been higher than those who are U.S.-born, according to Pew Research.
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