The impact of young American citizens on elections

2024-10-27 10:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

About 3.5 million adults have become U.S. citizens since the 2020 election, according to data from the National Partnership for Young Americans. As Voice of America correspondent Aline Barros reports, some experts think that this growing group could be decisive for the outcome of the elections.

Silvina Guedes is a new American citizen. The citizenship ceremony was held at Mount Vernon, the home of the first President of the United States, George Washington.

"I have lived here for many years. So why not become an American citizen? Now my status is determined" , said Mrs. Guedes to the Voice of America.

She is originally from Portugal, has lived in the United States for over two decades, and will vote for the first time this November.

"I follow politics through radio and television. I also follow the debates. I even watched the last debate on Univision television channel in Spanish. For me it is important because I learn about their ideas and what they think to do" , she told VOA.

Experts say these young voters could play a decisive role in the presidential election in November, particularly in undecided states.

Over 600,000 new American citizens are in Georgia, according to data from the "Rock the Naturalized Vote" project. Nearly 400,000 are in Michigan and nearly 465,000 in Arizona.

"In a state like Arizona, people who have become new citizens, in the last eight or nine years, make up about 2% of the electorate. And Arizona had a very close result in the 2020 election ," Manuel Pastor, head of this project at the University of Southern California, told VOA.

Nationally, an estimated 3.5 million adults have become U.S. citizens since the 2020 election, according to data from the National Partnership for Young Americans.

Mr. Pastor says that young citizens tend to engage more politically when the subject of immigration dominates the political debate.

"Then young citizens are more engaged as they are personally interested in the issue" , he says.

Ntama Bahati originates from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“I arrived in the United States on September 6, 2001, and I still remember the moment. It was 3 o'clock in the afternoon in Chicago ," he says.

Mr. Bahati became a citizen in 2017 and voted for the first time in 2020.

“When I did the citizenship interview, I was offered the opportunity to register as a voter. It was like a dream when the immigration officials told me that I could now vote. I told you, really? And I filled out the form right away ," he told VOA.

Experts say that young American citizens have the tendency to take their new civic responsibility seriously and that these young Americans can be decisive for the outcome of elections in undecided states./ VOA