VOA慢速英语2020 邮寄投票或将导致美国大选结果延迟公布（在线收听）

Mail-in Voting May Delay US Presidential Election Results

邮寄投票或将导致美国大选结果延迟公布

On the night of presidential elections in the United States, many Americans stay up late to find out who won. The reason? Most areas use electronic voting machines and computers to count-up ballots. With electronic balloting, election results are usually reported on election night or early the next day.

美国总统大选之夜许多美国人会熬夜等待公布最终赢家。为何如此?因为大多数地区利用电子投票机和计算机来统计选票。由于是电子投票，选举结果通常在选举当晚或第二天早些时候公布。

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, and a move to mail-in ballots, it is likely that Americans will not know who won the presidency on election night. If that happens, some people are worried that U.S. President Donald Trump may not accept the results.

由于冠状病毒大流行以及因此推行的邮寄选票措施，今年美国民众很有可能无法在大选之夜知晓谁赢得了总统宝座。如果真的出现这种情况，一些人担心美国总统特朗普可能不会接受选举结果。

Days of counting ahead

统计选票就需数日时间

Some state election officials recently warned that it may take days to count all the ballots that arrive in the mail. They must be mailed by Election Day, Tuesday, November 3. If the election is as close as it was in 2016, that delay may prevent news organizations from calling a winner.

美国一些州的选举官最近警告称，可能要花几天时间才能清点完成邮寄来的所有选票。而选票必须在选举日——11月3日星期二当天寄送到。如果大选结果像2016年那样接近，那么这种延迟或会使得新闻机构无法宣布胜利者。

Jocelyn Benson is Secretary of State in Michigan and a member of the state’s Democratic Party. She said, "It may be several days before we know the outcome of the election. We have to prepare for that now and accept that reality."

乔斯林·本森是密歇根州的州政府秘书长，也是该州民主党成员。她说：“我们可能要过几天才能知道选举结果。我们现在必须做好准备并接受现实。”

Ohio's secretary of state, Frank LaRose, is a Republican. He has urged the public to be patient. "We've gotten accustomed to this idea that by the middle of the evening of election night, we're going to know all the results," LaRose said. He warned, "Election night reporting may take a little longer" this year.

俄亥俄州国务卿弗兰克·拉罗斯是一位共和党人。他敦促公众耐心等待选举结果。拉罗斯说：“我们已经习惯了这种想法，即在选举当晚的午夜，我们将知道最终结果。”他还警告称，今年“选举之夜结果公布可能需要更长时间”。

A few states already hold elections largely by mail. There, delayed results are common. But the results of a presidential election have not been in dispute since 2000. That year, problems with ballots in Florida led to weeks of chaos and legal appeals.

一些州已经大范围通过邮寄方式进行选举。这些地区出现选举结果延迟的现象很常见。但自2000年以来，总统选举的结果一直都没有过争议。2000年，佛罗里达州的选票问题引发了数周的混乱和法律上诉。

Some election observers and Democrats worry about what may happen this year, as the president criticizes mail-in voting. Trump is a Republican. He has claimed without evidence that widespread mail balloting will lead to a "rigged" election.

一些选举观察员和民主党人担心今年的选举会出现意外，因为总统本人批评了邮寄选票的方式。特朗普是一位共和党人。他在没有证据的情况下声称，大范围的邮寄选票将引发一场选举“舞弊”。

“It's very problematic,” said Rick Hasen, a law professor with the University of California-Irvine. “There is already so much anxiety about this election because of the high levels of polarization and misinformation," he added.

加州大学欧文分校的法学教授里克·哈森表示：“这很有问题。”他还补充道：“由于两极分化和信息误传非常严重，人们已经对这次选举感到非常焦虑。”

Hasen is among the experts who have been studying how the pandemic may cause problems for the U.S. electoral system. He recently gathered a group of academics from both political parties to suggest ways to avoid having a disputed election. Some members have thought about possible events like state legislatures or governors refusing to seat electors, or a candidate refusing to admit defeat.

哈森是一直在研究大流行将给美国选举制度带来何种问题的专家之一。他最近召集了来自两个政党的一组学者，提出避免一场具有争议的选举的方法。一些人想到了可能会发生的事件，如州立法机关或州长拒绝为选举人设席，或候选人拒绝承认选举失败。

Millions more ballots

将有数百万张选票

Since the pandemic began, many Americans have been looking for a safer alternative to in-person voting. Voters requested large numbers of mail-in ballots for presidential primary elections this spring. The state of Maryland will hold an entirely vote-by-mail primary on June 2.

自大流行开始以来，许多美国民众都在寻找一种比现场投票更安全的投票方式。选民们要求为今年春天的总统初选提供大量邮寄选票。马里兰州将在6月2日举行一次全部来自邮寄选票的初选。

Election officials from both parties have supported calls for mail-in and absentee voting. Many states expect to be struggling to process millions more mail-in ballots than they usually do in November.

两党的选举官员都支持邮寄和不到场投票的要求。许多州预计要比往年11月份多处理数百万份的邮寄选票。

Each state has its own rules for accepting and counting mail-in ballots. In some areas, mail-in ballots can be accepted several days after Election Day. But they must be stamped with a postmark before voting stations close.

每个州都有自己接受和计算邮寄选票的规则。在某些地区，选举日后几天的邮寄选票也是可接受的。但邮戳必须是在投票站关闭前盖上的。

Some states count mail-in ballots as they come in, but others — like Michigan and Pennsylvania — have laws that bar processing such ballots until Election Day. That means the count will extend well into the next day.

一些州在收到邮寄选票时会对其进行统计，但其他一些州，比如密歇根州和宾夕法尼亚州的法律则禁止在选举日前统计此类选票。这意味着选票统计将一直延续到第二天。

Another thing that could delay the count is that Democrats are pushing to require states to accept mail-in ballots postmarked on Election Day. Democrats have taken legal action, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court required it for Wisconsin's April 7 election. But, because of that requirement, Wisconsin did not release results from its election until April 13.

另一个可能推迟统计选票的因素是，民主党人力推各州接受在选举日当天加盖邮戳的邮寄选票。民主党人已经采取法律行动，指出美国最高法院在威斯康星州4月7日的选举中已有先例。但也是因为这一要求，威斯康星州直到4月13日才公布选举结果。

Still, news organizations may try to predict a winner of the presidential election before the official vote count is completed. Those predictions are based on partial results, earlier elections and studies of likely voters. Without enough information, the broadcasters may not be able to call a winner on election night.

不过，新闻机构可能会试图在正式计票结束前预测总统选举的获胜者。这些预测基于部分选举结果、早期选举和对潜在的选民进行的调研。如果没有足够的信息，广播公司可能无法在大选之夜公布获胜者。

I’m Jill Robbins.

吉尔·罗宾斯报道。