Newly naturalized Americans have a higher rate of political participation than their native-born counterparts, advocates say. || Jerod MacDonald-Evoy / Arizona Mirror
BY: GLORIA REBECCA GOMEZ || Arizona Mirror
A wave of new voters in Arizona is expected to join the swing state’s midterm elections — and voting and immigration advocacy groups say it could help determine the result.
From 2016 to 2020, 63,857 people were naturalized in the state, according to a report released by the National Partnership for New Americans, a coalition of immigrant and refugee rights groups. While this represents a slight drop from the more than 73,000 naturalized between 2010 and 2014, NPNA maintains that it still outperforms the 10,457 vote margin by which President Joe Biden won his election in the state.
This influx of newly naturalized voters promises to throw a wrench into the plans of anti-immigrant politicians, advocates say. Studies indicate that newly anointed Americans from minority groups — which comprise the bulk of new citizens — have a higher rate of political participation than their native-born counterparts. Latino and Asian immigrants, especially, have higher rates of political participation than native-born Latinos and Asian Americans. And among Latinos, immigration is a top concern, with 82% of them in favor of pro-immigrant policies.
“With so many anti-immigrant sentiments lingering across our nation and the current attempts to restrict our voting and civil rights, the stakes cannot be higher. This powerful multiracial, multigenerational voting bloc will be driven to the polls by different viewpoints, experiences, and issues that impact our communities, truly making them an electoral force to reckon with,” said Nicole Melaku, executive director of NPNA, which also works to encourage new citizens to vote.
In Arizona, the new voting bloc skews younger, female and Latino.
Approximately 56% of newly naturalized citizens are of voting age and under 45 years old, and 57% are women.
