2022年11月07日 VOA慢速英语：数百万美国人不会在选举日用英语投票

 

Tuesday, November 8 is Election Day in the United States.
11 月 8 日星期二是美国的选举日。
 
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，美国选民将参加所谓的中期选举。选举之所以这样称呼，是因为它们发生在美国总统任期近两年——或大约中间点——的时候。
 
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.
美国众议院议员每两年选举一次。因此，在中期选举中，所有 435 个众议院席位都已确定。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.
美国选民还将选择州长、州议员和地方官员。选举结果将决定哪个政党控制国会以及州办公室和立法机构。
 
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.
为了在联邦和州选举中投票，一个人必须是美国公民并且年满 18 岁。该人还必须满足州居住要求。在除北达科他州以外的每个州，人们还必须登记成为选民。
 
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，超过 8000 万美国人将有机会以英语以外的语言投票。这是因为美国联邦法律保证某些人群在投票过程中可以获得语言帮助。
 
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 是博伊西州立大学爱达荷州政策研究所的研究员。他说，“这个想法是让历史上被排除在选举过程之外的群体，其使命是让其中一些群体更容易接触到它。”
 
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《投票权法案》签署成为法律，以保护主要在南方的非裔美国人的投票权。该法案于 1975 年扩大到包括某些语言少数群体。其中包括美洲原住民、阿拉斯加原住民、拉丁裔和亚裔美国人。
 
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 是非营利性法律民权律师委员会投票权项目的律师。他指出，对于英语知识有限的公民来说，投票信息可能是“参与能力的障碍”。
 
How do officials decide on languages?
官员如何决定语言？
 
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，美国人口普查局都会选择哪些少数民族语言群体将获得以他们的母语提供信息的帮助。
 
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.
该决定基于一个地区是否有超过 5% 的合格选民会说有限的英语，或者一个地区是否有超过 10,000 名合格选民的英语能力有限。然后要求地方选举官员以该第二语言提供投票材料，包括选票。
 
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，美国人口普查在 2022 年中期选举之前确定了 331 个符合要求的地区。大多数被称为司法管辖区的覆盖区域位于加利福尼亚州、佛罗里达州和德克萨斯州三个州。这些州必须在每次全州选举中提供西班牙语投票材料。
 
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 年的登记和投票数据发现，增加第二语言“对覆盖语言少数群体的投票率有积极影响”。
 
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.
该研究由 Michael Jones-Correa 教授和 Israel Waismel-Manor 教授进行。它发现，在语言要求所涵盖的领域，拉丁裔选民的投票率比那些没有提供西班牙语材料和帮助的选民投票率高出11% 。教授们还发现，在提供语言帮助的地区，拉丁裔选民的登记人数比没有提供语言帮助的地区高出 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 观察到语言要求涵盖的所有四个组的参与度都有很大提高。其中包括美洲印第安人、阿拉斯加原住民、拉丁裔或西班牙语选民，以及自 1975 年以来讲亚洲语言的亚裔美国人。
 
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.
《投票权法》原定于 1970 年结束，但已延长五次。上一次延期 25 年是在 2006 年。