Bids for citizenship on rise

What are the three branches of government?

Juan Gonzalez stared blankly at the instructor of the citizenship class held this week in the basement of Woodbury Library in north Denver.

"Legislative. Executive. Judicial," said instructor Maria de Cambra in English before
switching to Spanish: "Think legislativo, executivo, judicial - all Spanish words that sound similar to the English words."

In Colorado, applicants rose sharply, from 6,364 in 2005 to 8,122 in 2006 to nearly 11,000 in the first half of this year alone. Many people sped up the process to avoid a sharp increase in application fees, to $675 from $400 starting July 30.

The Latina Initiative, a Denver-based group that helped organize the weekly citizenship classes at area libraries, is part of a national coalition working to get more legal residents to apply for naturalization and eventually registered to vote.

The coalition's campaign, Ya Es Hora, Ciudadania! (It's Time, Citizenship!), has also partnered with Moreno's group.