2022年11月07日 VOA慢速英語：數(shù)百萬美國人不會在選舉日用英語投票

 

Tuesday, November 8 is Election Day in the United States.
11 月 8 日星期二是美國的選舉日。
 
This year, American voters will be taking part in what is known as midterm elections. The elections are called this because they happen nearly two years – or about the middle point – into the term of the U.S. president.
今年，美國選民將參加所謂的中期選舉。選舉之所以這樣稱呼，是因為它們發(fā)生在美國總統(tǒng)任期近兩年——或大約中間點——的時候。
 
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are elected every two years. So in the midterms, all 435 House seats are decided. In addition, every two years one third of U.S. Senate members are either elected or leave their seats at the end of the term.
美國眾議院議員每兩年選舉一次。因此，在中期選舉中，所有 435 個眾議院席位都已確定。In addition, every two years one third of US Senate members are either elected or leave their seats at the end of the term.
 
American voters will also be choosing governors, state lawmakers and local officials. The election results will decide which party controls Congress, as well as state offices and legislatures.
美國選民還將選擇州長、州議員和地方官員。選舉結(jié)果將決定哪個政黨控制國會以及州辦公室和立法機構(gòu)。
 
In order to vote in federal and state elections, a person must be a U.S. citizen and be at least 18 years of age. The person also has to meet the state residency requirements. In every state except North Dakota, people must also register to become voters.
為了在聯(lián)邦和州選舉中投票，一個人必須是美國公民并且年滿 18 歲。該人還必須滿足州居住要求。在除北達科他州以外的每個州，人們還必須登記成為選民。
 
This year, more than 80 million Americans will have the chance to vote in a language other than English. That is because U.S. federal law guarantees that certain groups of people can receive language assistance in the voting process.
今年，超過 8000 萬美國人將有機會以英語以外的語言投票。這是因為美國聯(lián)邦法律保證某些人群在投票過程中可以獲得語言幫助。
 
Gabe Osterhout is a researcher at the Idaho Policy Institute at Boise State University. He said, "The idea was to take groups that were historically excluded from the electoral process, and the mission was to make it more accessible for some of those groups."
Gabe Osterhout 是博伊西州立大學(xué)愛達荷州政策研究所的研究員。他說，“這個想法是讓歷史上被排除在選舉過程之外的群體，其使命是讓其中一些群體更容易接觸到它。”
 
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law to protect the right to vote for African Americans mainly in the South. The act was expanded in 1975 to include certain language minorities. These included Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Latinos and Asian Americans.
1965 年的《投票權(quán)法案》簽署成為法律，以保護主要在南方的非裔美國人的投票權(quán)。該法案于 1975 年擴大到包括某些語言少數(shù)群體。其中包括美洲原住民、阿拉斯加原住民、拉丁裔和亞裔美國人。
 
Jim Tucker is a lawyer with the Voting Rights Project at the nonprofit Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. He noted that for citizens with limited knowledge of English, voting information can be "a barrier to the ability to participate."
Jim Tucker 是非營利性法律民權(quán)律師委員會投票權(quán)項目的律師。他指出，對于英語知識有限的公民來說，投票信息可能是“參與能力的障礙”。
 
How do officials decide on languages?
官員如何決定語言？
 
Every five years, the U.S. Census Bureau chooses which minority language groups will receive help with information in their native language.
每五年，美國人口普查局都會選擇哪些少數(shù)民族語言群體將獲得以他們的母語提供信息的幫助。
 
That decision is based on whether more than 5 percent of eligible voters in an area speak limited English, or if there are more than 10,000 eligible voters in an area with limited English ability. Local elections officials are then required to offer voting materials, including ballots, in that second language.
該決定基于一個地區(qū)是否有超過 5% 的合格選民會說有限的英語，或者一個地區(qū)是否有超過 10,000 名合格選民的英語能力有限。然后要求地方選舉官員以該第二語言提供投票材料，包括選票。
 
In December 2021, the U.S. Census identified 331 areas that meet the requirements ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. Most of the covered areas, called jurisdictions, are in three states, California, Florida and Texas. Those states must provide Spanish-language voting materials in every statewide election.
2021 年 12 月，美國人口普查在 2022 年中期選舉之前確定了 331 個符合要求的地區(qū)。大多數(shù)被稱為司法管轄區(qū)的覆蓋區(qū)域位于加利福尼亞州、佛羅里達州和德克薩斯州三個州。這些州必須在每次全州選舉中提供西班牙語投票材料。
 
Registration and voting data from November 1996 and 2000 found evidence that the addition of a second language has "positive effects on the voting rates of covered linguistic minorities."
1996 年 11 月和 2000 年的登記和投票數(shù)據(jù)發(fā)現(xiàn)，增加第二語言“對覆蓋語言少數(shù)群體的投票率有積極影響”。
 
The research was carried out by professors Michael Jones-Correa and Israel Waismel-Manor. It found that voter turnout among Latinos was 11 percent higher in areas covered by the language requirements than in those that did not provide materials and assistance in Spanish. The professors also found that voter registration among Latinos was 15 percent higher in areas that provided language assistance than those that did not.
該研究由 Michael Jones-Correa 教授和 Israel Waismel-Manor 教授進行。它發(fā)現(xiàn)，在語言要求所涵蓋的領(lǐng)域，拉丁裔選民的投票率比那些沒有提供西班牙語材料和幫助的選民投票率高出11% 。教授們還發(fā)現(xiàn)，在提供語言幫助的地區(qū)，拉丁裔選民的登記人數(shù)比沒有提供語言幫助的地區(qū)高出 15%。
 
Tucker observed large participation increases in all four groups covered under the language requirements. These include American Indians, Alaska Natives, Latino or Spanish-speaking voters, and Asian Americans who speak Asian languages since 1975.
Tucker 觀察到語言要求涵蓋的所有四個組的參與度都有很大提高。其中包括美洲印第安人、阿拉斯加原住民、拉丁裔或西班牙語選民，以及自 1975 年以來講亞洲語言的亞裔美國人。
 
The Voting Rights Act was supposed to end by 1970, but it has been extended five times. The last extension, for 25 years, came in 2006.
《投票權(quán)法》原定于 1970 年結(jié)束，但已延長五次。上一次延期 25 年是在 2006 年。