CLEVELAND — Nathanie Yaskey was 6 years old when she came to America from Sierra Leone on political asylum. She became a naturalized citizen when she was 20, and now at 29 years old, she will be voting in her first general election.
“This election is really pivotal. This election is the people talking ” Yaskey says.
Yaskey is one of around 60,000 newly-naturalized citizens in Ohio who can impact the outcome of 2020 presidential election, according to a report released by Global Cleveland and the National Partnership for New Americans. Yaskey says issues such as human and civil rights are leading her to the polls this November, but she’s also motivated by her parents—refugees who brought her to this country to have a better and more safe future.
“I’m so glad to hear the numbers because when we vote, that is our way of saying, ‘I’m here. I’m allowed to occupy space. This is my community, too. I want to help.’ And in the back of my mind, I will always have my parents because (of) everything they sacrificed,” Yaskey says.
Joe Cimperman is the president of Global Cleveland, a nonprofit organization that works to welcome attract and retain international newcomers to Northeast Ohio. He says data the organization has collected in partnership with National Partnership for New Americans shows that around five million newly-naturalized citizens country-wide can affect the outcome of this year’s elections.
This makes immigrants one of the most significant electoral groups in recent U.S. history.
“Ninety-seven percent of them registered to vote the minute they stepped down from the podium. They know intuitively this is their responsibility. Of those 97 percent, we’ve seen data that shows 95 percent of them actually vote. Pay attention to them. Get their input because they are people who you can almost guarantee you’re gonna be showing up the ballot box, and they’re only growing,” Cimperman says.
According to Global Cleveland, Ohio ranks 9th for African new citizens, 11th for Middle Eastern, 7th for Asian American and 15th for European. Cimperman says many have never participated in a fair, free and open election process.
“We should be watching the immigrant community as an example of what we should be doing. Oftentimes, people like me who take our democracy for granted—these are folks who know how important it is to make their voice heard because there’s a reason they’re here,” Cimperman says.
Yaskey is using her voice to encourage anyone especially those in immigrant communities to exercise their right to vote in the presidential, senate and gubernatorial elections.
“We keep hearing about the silent majority. Right. So, this is our chance to use voices and say we’re the silent majority. Now, let’s get to work,” she says.
