时代周刊:揭秘拯救2020年大选的"影子运动秘史"(8)

The effort had to overcome heightened skepticism in some communities.

这一努力必须克服一些社区日益加深的怀疑。

Many Black voters preferred to exercise their franchise¹ in person or didn't trust the mail.

许多黑人选民宁愿亲自行使他们的选举权，也不相信邮件。

National civil rights groups worked with local organizations to get the word out that this was the best way to ensure one's vote was counted.

全国民权组织与地方组织合作，宣传这是确保一个人的选票被统计的最佳方式。

In Philadelphia, for example, advocates distributed "voting safety kits²" containing masks, hand sanitizer and informational brochures.

例如，在费城，支持者分发了“投票安全工具包”，包括口罩、洗手液和信息手册。

"We had to get the message out that this is safe, reliable, and you can trust it," says Hannah Fried of All Voting Is Local.

“我们必须让人们知道，这是安全、可靠的，你可以信任它，”汉娜·弗里德(Hannah Fried)在谈到所有投票都是本地的时说。

At the same time, Democratic lawyers battled a historic tide of pre-election litigation.

与此同时，民主党的律师们在选举前进行了一场历史性的诉讼。

The pandemic intensified³ the parties' usual tangling⁴ in the courts. But the lawyers noticed something else as well.

这种流行病加剧了双方惯常在法庭上的纠缠。但律师们还注意到了别的事情。

"The litigation brought by the Trump⁵ campaign, of a piece with the broader campaign to sow doubt about mail voting, was making novel claims and using theories no court has ever accepted,"

纽约大学布伦南司法中心的投票权专家温迪·威瑟表示：“特朗普竞选团队提出的诉讼，与更广泛的竞选团队一起散布对邮件投票的怀疑，提出了新颖的主张，

says Wendy Weiser, a voting-rights expert at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU. "They read more like lawsuits⁶ designed to send a message rather than achieve a legal outcome."

并使用了从未被任何法院接受的理论。”“它们读起来更像是旨在传递信息的诉讼，而不是为了达成法律结果。”

In the end, nearly half the electorate⁷ cast ballots⁸ by mail in 2020, practically a revolution in how people vote.

最终，在2020年，将近一半的选民通过邮件投票，这实际上是一场投票方式的革命。

About a quarter voted early in person. Only a quarter of voters cast their ballots the traditional way: in person on Election Day.

大约四分之一的人亲自提前投票。只有四分之一的选民以传统的方式投票:在选举日亲自投票。

Bad actors spreading false information is nothing new.

坏人传播虚假信息并不是什么新鲜事。

For decades, campaigns have grappled with everything from anonymous⁹ calls claiming the election has been rescheduled to fliers spreading nasty smears¹⁰ about candidates' families.

几十年来，竞选团队一直在努力应对各种各样的问题，从声称选举已被重新安排的匿名电话，到散布对候选人家庭的肮脏诽谤的传单。

But Trump's lies and conspiracy¹¹ theories, the viral force of social media and the involvement of foreign meddlers made disinformation a broader, deeper threat to the 2020 vote.

但特朗普的谎言和阴谋论、社交媒体的病毒式传播以及外国干预者的介入，让虚假信息成为了对2020年大选更广泛、更深层次的威胁。

Laura Quinn, a veteran progressive operative who co-founded Catalist, began studying this problem a few years ago.

劳拉·奎因是一位经验丰富的进步派特工，也是Catalist的联合创始人，她在几年前开始研究这个问题。

She piloted a nameless, secret project, which she has never before publicly discussed, that tracked disinformation online and tried to figure out how to combat it.

她开展了一个匿名的秘密项目，在网上追踪虚假信息，并试图找出应对之策。她之前从未公开讨论过这个项目。

One component¹² was tracking dangerous lies that might otherwise spread unnoticed. Researchers then provided information to campaigners or the media to track down the sources and expose them.

其中一个部分是追踪危险的谎言，否则这些谎言可能会在不被注意的情况下传播。然后，研究人员向活动人士或媒体提供信息，以追踪并曝光这些信息的来源。

1 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

2 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

3 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 tangling   

（使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• During match with football, sportsman is like tangling on the football field. 足球比赛时，运动员似在足球场上混战。
• Furthermore the built in cable rewind prevents tangling and prolongs cable life. 此外，在防止缠绕电缆退建，延长电缆使用寿命。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

7 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

8 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

10 smears   

污迹( smear的名词复数 )； 污斑； （显微镜的）涂片； 诽谤

参考例句：

• His evidence was a blend of smears, half truths and downright lies. 他的证词里掺杂着诽谤、部份的事实和彻头彻尾的谎言。
• Anything written with a soft pencil smears easily. 用软铅笔写成的东西容易污成一片。

11 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

12 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。