On Tuesday, there were many people at the Los Angeles Convention Center putting the final tocuhes on their U.S. Citizenship. It was a major moment in all of their lives, and it will be a day that they won’t soon regret. But there was also another positive outcome from that citizenship ceremony: there were people on hand to help the newly-minted citizens to get registered for the upcoming election.
Newly naturalized citizens are an exception to the voter registration rule, which was on Monday. These new citizens instead get a break and are able to register for the election past the registration deadline.
There are numerous quotes in the article that show just how appreciative these new citizens were to have the ability to vote. It’s amazing what a citizenship can do — it even makes your heart swell just thinking about checking a box on a ballot!
There are two quick notes from this story, and the first is just how special and important citizenship is. It’s easy for someone who was born here as a U.S. citizen to take it for granted, but people who become naturalized citizens haven’t known the simple advantages of being a citizen until moments like you saw on Tuesday at the L.A. Convention Center.
The other thing to remember here is that citizenship is a complex process, and some of the other registration and logistical protocols that follow can be complex too. It always helps to retain an experienced immigration attorney after you have attained U.S. citizenship.
Source: KPCC, “Newly naturalized citizens get called to the civic duty of voting — right away,” Leslie Berestein Rojas, Oct. 23, 2014
