Voter registration groups blocked from naturalization events : NPR
A panel is displayed in a registration stand for voters outside a naturalization ceremony at Los Angeles Convention Center on July 23, 2019.
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Non -governmental groups are now prohibited from registering new voters during naturalization ceremonies, American citizenship and immigration services announced.
The policy, which was issued on Friday, said “that only officials of the national and local elections will be authorized to offer voter registration services at the end of administrative naturalization ceremonies”.
Groups like the League of Women Voters criticized the decision. They often associate themselves with local and state electoral officials or complement their work to administer the registration services – and this includes naturalization ceremonies.
Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters, said in a statement that this new policy “is an attempt to prevent new citizens from accessing their full rights”.
“For decades, the voter league for women has been a trusted partner for USCIS and federal courts to record new voters during naturalization ceremonies,” she said. “This work has resulted in hundreds of thousands of new citizens who register to vote with league volunteers across the country.”
USCIS wrote in the policy note that the use of non -governmental organizations for the recording of voters during naturalization ceremonies “was sporadic and varied depending on the location”. USCIS also said that ensuring that the groups were not a supporter were a “burden” for the agency.
“Since USCIS does not mainly depend on non -governmental organizations for voter registration services, and the administrative burden of USCIS to ensure that non -governmental organizations provide voters’ registration services are not partisan”, the agency prevents them from USCIS facilities.
“This change had an impact on the access of new citizens to information and applications to register to vote,” adds the agency, “because this information will continue to be provided by officials of local or local elections, or USCIS staff at the end of naturalization ceremonies.”
Several states led by the Republicans have carried out new laws in recent years to repress the registration discs carried out by third -party groups. Some organizations have closed their efforts to prohibitive financial and criminal sanctions. Third organizations often find more successful in registering colored communities – in particular immigrant communities – than political parties or civil servants.
Steward said that this recent exclusion was simply one of the greater efforts from the administration to intimidate immigrants.
“By eliminating the League and other civic partners, the USCIS makes it more difficult for new citizens to register to vote, which is another intimidation tactic and attacking the community of immigrants,” she said. “Our democracy is stronger with the voices of new citizens.”
