New citizens in New Hampshire get ready to dive into 2024

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Seventy-three new U.S. citizens from 38 different countries took the oath of allegiance at a ceremony here on July 4 — and are now ready to participate in the 2024 elections in the key primary state and potential battleground.

Hudson Charles, one of the new citizens sworn in at Strawbery Banke Museum, said becoming a citizen is “long overdue.” Charles is originally from Haiti and moved to the U.S. in 1978. His mom brought him and his sister to the country in the hope of finding more opportunities. He says being able to vote in 2024 and beyond is “everything.”

“It’s more important now just because of the political environment,” Charles said. “A few days ago when they struck down affirmative action — I just thought that now, specifically for a person of color, a Black man, I think it’s more important now that people like myself can actually vote and play a part.”

73 sworn in as new U.S citizens at July 4th ceremony in New Hampshire

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Minah Wheatley, originally from England, moved to the U.S. in 2010 for work and has been living in the U.S. ever since. Some of the key issues motivating Wheatley to the polls for the first time in the U.S. include LGBTQ rights and threats to democracy. 

“I’ve been here 13 years and I can’t wait to become a citizen to be able to vote,” Wheatley said. 

Jordan Middlemiss, also originally from England, said becoming a citizen is a “dream come true.” The process took him five years.

“I got to witness the last election from the outside without being able to kind of have an input in it, and knowing that I can actually have that input now is incredible,” Middlemiss said. 

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New Hampshire Secretary of State of New Hampshire David Scanlan, who says voting is part of the Granite State’s culture, rolled out a new resource at the event called the New American Citizen Voter Guide, which will help new citizens navigate how to register to vote. 

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“Registering to vote in New Hampshire is very easy, but we’re making information available in multiple languages,” he said. “We have resources that are available for a new voter that doesn’t have English as their first language.” 

At the naturalization ceremony, a table was filled with small rectangular pamphlets tilted “New American Pocket Voter Guide” with information including how to register, what to bring to the polls, voting with disabilities and who to contact if you need help with anything voting related. 

New Hampshire has not announced its 2024 primary date yet, but the Granite State has long held the nation’s first primary, following the Iowa caucuses. That is set to change on the Democratic side this year, with the Democratic National Committee voting to have South Carolina’s primary be the party’s first officially sanctioned contest of 2024. But Iowa and New Hampshire are still set to lead off on the Republican side.