A Tuesday media release about a new report by the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) stated that “5.3 million newly naturalized citizens —many of whom live in swing states— could make a decisive impact on the 2020 election.”
According to the NPNA release, it is estimated that 860,000 newly naturalized citizens will become eligible voters in 2020. NPNA also said that since Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 until the end of 2019, there have been 3.1 million newly naturalized citizens. The report also looked at newly naturalized citizens since 2014 to arrive at the total estimate of 5.3 million eligible voters.
News of the report’s release coincided with a nationwide campaign by NPNA and its member organizations to encourage civic engagement among newly naturalized citizens.
“Our network of immigrant and refugee advocacy organizations has reacted to this administration’s constant attacks by organizing our communities, increasing our protection work through immigration legal services and this report shows, that we also responded by naturalizing,” NPNA Deputy Director Nancy Flores said in the release. “Today we launched our New Americans Vote 2020 campaign, encouraging folks that have naturalized to use their voice at the ballot box.”
“The rising number of new American voters represent voting blocks that can have the power to sway the outcome of the upcoming presidential election, midterm elections, and elections for governorships and state legislatures. These voting blocks will be especially critical in swing states like Florida, Texas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, and Michigan, where some of the largest groups of newly naturalized citizens reside,” the release added.
The report provided some swing state estimates of newly naturalized eligible voters from 2014 to the end of 2020:
- Florida: 614,122
- Texas: 493,023
- Georgia: 130,075
- Pennsylvania: 128,672
- North Carolina: 98,937
- Arizona: 86,131
- Michigan: 81,925
The NPNA release concluded the “potential political power and impact” of newly naturalized citizens “have been largely untapped.”
“Research shows that once a newly naturalized citizen registers to vote, they vote at equal or even greater rates than native-born citizens,” the release said.
