King County, Seattle Join Nationwide Citizenship Effort

SEATTLE — Seattle and King County leaders are joining in with a national effort to carry hundreds of thousands of people eligible for U.S. citizenship across the finish line by the end of this year.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and King County Executive Dow Constantine are scheduled to host a news conference Wednesday morning at City Hall to detail the effort, joined by city and county council members and representatives from the National Partnership for New Americans, OneAmerica and the Asian Counseling and Referral Service.

According to organizers of the "Naturalize 2 Million by 2022" campaign, more than nine million permanent residents living in the United States are eligible for citizenship, including 190,000 in Washington. An estimated 113,000 live within the Seattle metro area.

The state's most populous city and county join dozens of others across the nation that have signed on to the effort, aiming to spread the word to those eligible for citizenship and encourage them to complete the final steps and register to vote in the midterm elections. Volunteers with the campaign help immigrants navigate the naturalization process and study for the citizenship test.

The NPNA plans to stream Wednesday's announcement on Facebook, starting just after 10 a.m.