LWV Sues Homeland Security
and US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)

Regarding ‘Voter Registration Ban’ barring the League from registering new citizens to vote at naturalization ceremonies.

For decades the League of Women Voters, including state and local Leagues across the country, has worked as a trusted partner of US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), helping hundreds of thousands of new citizens to register to vote. They staffed registration tables for the new citizens following being sworn in at USCIS naturalization ceremonies. The League has always conducted this work in a nonpartisan manner, with a single goal: to ensure that new Americans have a voice in our democracy. Registering new voters - including new U.S. citizens  - is a core part of the League’s mission:  Empower Voters and Defend Democracy.

Ever since USCIS first began administering naturalization ceremonies, non-governmental organizations have provided voter registration services to newly naturalized citizens. In 2011 USCIS revised its manual to require its staff to ensure that every newly naturalized citizen be provided the opportunity to register to vote at the conclusion of the naturalization ceremony. These services were provided by nongovernmental organizations, especially the League, that were required to be “both non-profit and non-partisan.” This continued, even during COVID.