New Citizens

In 2019, LWV of Houston volunteers registered more than 31,000 new citizens to vote. Here's how they did it.

This year, in addition to helping register a record number of new voters in 2018, 853 League volunteers dedicated 6,600 hours of their time to inform, assist, and engage with over 47,000 new citizens at the ceremonies nationwide.

After the election, I joined fellow members of the League of Women Voters of DC to register new voters at a naturalization ceremony. It was my first time at one; I was uncertain of what to expect.

League member Judy Stuthman led an effort to attend every citizenship ceremony held in Minnesota since 2007, taking part in helping register over 62,000 new Americans.

Standing in a crowded high school hallway in Northern Virginia on a cold morning back in 2010, I unfolded my handmade “Register to Vote!” poster and double-checked my supply of pens.  I was excited

“The desire to vote, especially in a hotly contested presidential election, is propelling the number of new U.S. citizens in Minnesota to record levels. ... About 1,500 people were sworn in as new Americans Thursday at the Minneapolis Convention Center -- the largest naturalization ceremony in Minnesota history. ... The connection between the large batch of new citizens and voter registration was evident Thursday, as representatives of the League of Women Voters of Minnesota collected stacks of completed voter registration cards.”