Arizona's recently naturalized voters could swing Arizona midterms, report finds 

Recently naturalized voters in Arizona, a swing state, might play a decisive role in the upcoming midterm elections, according to a new report released last week. 

Between 2016 and 2020, Arizona became the home of more than 64,000 new U.S. citizens, according to the report published by several voter advocacy, labor, and immigration groups. The number of newly naturalized voters during this period is more than six times larger than Arizona’s margin in the 2020 presidential election. 

According to the report, these new voters could have one of the largest impacts on the results of the November midterm elections in Arizona, a swing state that is considered politically important according to the New American Voters Impact Model. 

The report “ranked the ‘political importance’ of states using the number of newly naturalized citizens, the average presidential election margins in the three most recent elections, and the presence of competitive Senate and gubernatorial races, among other metrics,” reported NBC News. 

The findings of the study are based on naturalization data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) between 2015 and 20202 and naturalization applications approved in 2021. 

The data shows that more than half of the naturalized individuals since 2016 are coming mostly from Latin America and the Caribbean and about a quarter come from Asian and Pacific Islander countries. 

Around 57% of the naturalized individuals are under 45 years old and most live in the greater Phoenix area, followed by Tucson and Yuma. 

“We will do everything possible to make sure this new group of voters has access to participate fully in our democracy in this and every future election,” said Carolina Rodriguez-Greer, state director of Mi Familia Vota Arizona, a local group registering people to vote in the state.

“In fact, many of our team members are immigrants themselves and feel eager to help others become naturalized and vote for elected officials that will create positive change.”

“With so many anti-immigrant sentiments lingering across our nation and the current attempts to restrict our voting and civil rights, the stakes cannot be higher. This powerful multiracial, multigenerational voting bloc will be driven to the polls by different viewpoints, experiences, and issues that impact our communities, truly making them an electoral force to reckon with,” said Nicole Melaku, executive director of NPNA, which also works to encourage new citizens to vote.