2007年VOA标准英语-Local Governments Conduct All Elections in US

By Jeffrey Young
Washington
15 May 2007
 

To most Americans, the governments in their towns and regional areas called counties are the governments they interact with the most.  And alongside these local governments are groups of citizens who work on their own to make life better.

In this segment of a multi-part series, VOA's Jeffrey Young looks at how the government of Montgomery County in the eastern U.S. state of Maryland conducts elections with the assistance of citizen volunteers.

A volunteer assists a voter on Election Day

It is Election Day in the United States.  And in Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C., citizen volunteers are there, manning the polling places.

On the first Tuesday in November in certain years, people in the United States vote for candidates for government offices.

While there may be candidates for national office – for president or the U.S. House and Senate – and also state offices – such as governor – local governments supervise the voting though an office typically called the Board of Elections.

The board and its staff do not conduct the election without help. Marjorie Rohrer, with the Montgomery County Board of Elections, says it also takes legions of citizen volunteers. "The Board of Elections itself has a very small staff, and we just would not be able to staff the polls.  These folks [volunteers] are critical [to conducting elections]." 

But these volunteers do not simply show up at polling places.  Before Election Day, training classes are held at the Board of Elections offices in the Montgomery County city of Rockville.  For instance, verifying that the voter is entitled to cast a ballot¹ at that particular polling place, called a precinct, is crucial.

"And the first thing that you will do,” explains a trainer, “is ask them, 'Do you believe that you are a registered voter in [the state of] Maryland?' Okay, and then if he says 'Yes,' then you will go to the precinct register [of voters], or try to find that voter in the state register. "

Instead of paper ballots² put in a box to be counted, votes in Montgomery County are now made on computers with touch-screens.  This change has unsettled some voters, who express distrust in the machines. 

But election volunteer Andrew Gallant³ says his training as a poll worker has raised his confidence in this new computer voting system, and, just as importantly, in elections overall.  "I think it is very important for citizens to back up the [election] process, to help out, to exert their rights not only to vote but also to support the process. If we don't support the process, then how do we know that it works?"

On Election Day, in the state of Maryland, the voting period is from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. For poll workers, that means dealing⁴ with an endless stream of people who must be verified as legitimate⁵ voters, handed the plastic card that activates⁶ their voting machine, and, at times, helped with technical problems to complete the balloting⁷.

Charles Challstrom is a trainer of volunteers for Montgomery County.  He says the presence of these citizen volunteers is important because they give the balloting process greater public legitimacy⁸. "I would like to make sure [by the involvement of these volunteers] that the election experience goes [in a] positive [way], that people have confidence that it is being done right, that it is being done securely, and that it is being done to capture their [the voters'] input⁹ to government. It's an important step."

Regardless of which candidates succeed at the ballot box, citizen involvement helps ensure that the election process itself is a winner.

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 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》

3 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

6 activates   

使活动，起动，触发( activate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Activates the window and displays it in its current size and position. 激活窗口，保持当前的大小及位置不变。
• Pulling out the alarm switch activates alarm and pushing it deactivates it. 闹钟的开和关是通过拔出和按入闹铃开关实现的。

7 balloting   

v.（使）投票表决( ballot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Clark took a commanding leading in the early balloting. 在最初投票时，克拉克遥遥领先。 来自辞典例句
• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句

8 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

9 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。