Did you know that . . .
10 percent of the total U.S. electorate consists of naturalized citizens?
Before COVID-19, up to 860,000 new Americans had been expected to take their oath of citizenship and be eligible to vote this year?
Up to half that number may not be able to vote due to months-long pandemic shutdowns at USCIS field offices, which exacerbated years of growing delays in citizenship processing?*
Since field offices reopened on June 4, citizenship oath ceremonies have resumed at a slower rate than usual through a variety of workarounds, including smaller indoor gatherings that observe social distancing measures, outdoor ceremonies, and even drive-through events sponsored by local governments. However, the months of postponed naturalization interviews have severely reduced the number of applicants who have completed the process and are ready to take the oath in time to register to vote.
The delays have stymied the efforts of the League of Women Voters and other organizations throughout the country to register as many new citizens as possible in time to vote in the upcoming election. For some states, voter registration deadlines have passed. But many states still have upcoming registration deadlines or allow simultaneous registration and voting on Election Day. You can find a useful state-by-state guide to voting deadlines and procedures here.
If you have current or former citizenship students who are eligible, encourage them to register to vote!
Our students cite being able to vote as one of their most important motivations for becoming citizens. And our instruction emphasizes this as one of citizens’ key rights and responsibilities. In celebration of this election season, here are complimentary lessons from the Voices of Freedom course that you can use with your students on the topics of rights, responsibilities, and civic participation, including elections.
If you are currently offering your citizenship instruction remotely or through a hybrid model due to the pandemic, here’s a new training video for Voices of Freedom that includes a segment on remote instruction strategies using Zoom and Google Meet. (That segment begins at 25:48.)
And as a service to programs operating remotely, an electronic version of the course is also available here––a useful resource for screensharing and as an alternative to the print edition of the student book.
(*Information about delays in citizenship processing are available at these sites: FiveThirtyEight, Boundless, and the Migration Policy Institute.)
To learn more about the Voices of Freedom course and its components, and for ordering information, please visit our digital catalog here.
