On Friday, September 1, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes welcome and congratulated new United States citizens at a naturalization ceremony held in conjunction with Louisville’s 15^th annual Worldfest. The ceremony marked Grimes’ 75^th naturalization ceremony as Secretary of State. Her office has been present for more than 100. Grimes recognized 197 new citizens from 48 different  countries who took the oath of citizenship to officially become Americans. She expressed to the new citizens the importance of participating in elections and asked them to go to the pools in every cycle.