![WNYC attended a naturalization ceremony at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, a little more than a week before the voter registration deadline. Pictured here are new citizens as of February, 2017.](https://media.wnyc.org/i/800/0/c/85/1/citizens_VdUWgLO.jpg)
Among the New Yorkers making sure to register to vote before Friday's deadline: those who just became citizens.
This Friday is the deadline for voters in the state to register in time for November's general election. It's also the deadline to register or change your party affiliation before the 2018 midterms.
To vote in the Democratic Congressional primary next year, for example, you'll need to be registered as a Democrat by the end of this week. This rule caused widespread frustration among New Yorkers not registered as Democrats who wanted to vote in last year's Democratic Presidential primary. Of those registered since April, 780,226 voters had left their party affiliation blank.
So for some eager new voters, last Wednesday's naturalization ceremony at the federal courthouse in Downtown Brooklyn came just in time.
Jerry Gomes, a Trinidadian immigrant who's been living in New York for a decade, was among those sworn in as citizens last week. He said he hopes those who aren't registered see "a wake up call."
"We have a new president who isn't doing an okay job," Gomes told WNYC, "so, maybe we'll see [turnout] go up."
Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold, who presided over the ceremony, told those being sworn in, "I'm not going to stand here and say this country is perfect," referring to the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas.
But he assured the room of soon-to-be naturalized citizens that it was their right to exercise their freedom of speech and religious practice, to vote in accordance with their beliefs, and to continuously educate themselves about the issues they care about.
Miki Noam, an Israeli immigrant who was sworn in as a U.S. citizen last Wednesday, recalled the exam he took as part of the naturalization process.
"I needed to study for the exam," Noam told WNYC, "and I read a lot of [American] history. The constitution and these documents were exciting in the way they promised freedoms, and I'm happy to be part of a country that values freedom above all else."
U.S. citizens in New York City have until this Friday to be registered to vote in the November general election.
The ceremony came about a month after a citywide primary that drew about 14 percent of eligible voters. There are 3,100,356 active registered Democrats in New York City as of the April, 2017 registration deadline.
One more thing. We know voter booth selfies are verboten in New York, but you CAN take registration form selfies. (Just don't take a picture of your form with all of your personal information.) So, take a photo of yourself with your closed envelope and tweet it at @WNYC, using #PartyOn2018. And tag a friend who you think could use a reminder to register before Friday's deadline. Let's make sure everyone who wants to can vote in November — and the June 2018 primary.
Want to vote in the 2018 primary? You have a week to register. https://t.co/HzbLZkOayo #nycvotes #PartyOn2018
— WNYC 🎙 (@WNYC) October 6, 2017