Civic Engagement
Once you have taken your naturalization oath, you can vote, become an elected official, and make a difference in your community.
Remember, you can register to vote as soon as you receive your Certificate of Citizenship and Naturalization.
Voting in the United States
One way to become civically engaged is to register to vote and participate in local, state, and national elections. If you have never voted before or have never voted in the United States, it can feel overwhelming to get started. That is why we have created multiple resources for new Americans that contain critical information on the voting process in the United States.
NAC Voting Resources for New Americans
This year, the NAC released a two-pager community resource that answers the top questions new citizens often have about voting in the United States. The two-pager is currently available in English, Spanish, and Korean.
In addition to this community resource, we have also created a comprehensive NAC Voter Guide for New Americans that answers more questions new Americans may have about voting in the United States.
NAC Voting Resources for Organizations
We have also created a customizable version of the guide that can be used by community organizations seeking to strengthen their team’s ability to discuss voting and civic engagement with newly naturalized clients. The customizable version of the guide allows organizations to add specific resources, deadlines, voter registration processes, and other state—or site-specific information. To access the customizable version, please click here to provide your name, email, and organization; you will receive the link immediately.
Using the Guide
You can find information about how to customize the voter guide and some ideas about sharing with community members at these links:
Additional Resources
The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) has created helpful materials through their New American Voters campaign. On their website, you can find context on the campaign as well as data reports on naturalized voters and media coverage of the campaign. They have also created a New American Voters Digital Toolkit, that includes new American voter statistics, campaign talking points, and templates to uplift naturalized voter stories on digital platforms.
NAC partners have also created helpful guides for new Americans:
If you have a guide for new Americans that you’d like us to share, please contact us at nac@ilrc.org.
For organizations looking to learn more about how to partake in civic engagement work, please view these election and lobbying resources for nonprofits from Alliance for Justice.