美国国家公共电台 NPR--State legislative races are on the front lines of democracy this midterm cycle

State legislative¹ races are on the front lines of democracy this midterm cycle

Transcript²

State legislative races can feel low stakes when compared to national political contests. But 2022 is shaping up a little differently.

Democratically aligned³ super PACs and party-affiliated groups are spending tens of millions of dollars around the country to try to change the composition of state legislatures in key swing states, warning that fair elections could hang in the balance.

The Republican Party aims to defend its majorities and to flip⁴ chambers⁵ in states where Democrats⁶ currently control both the legislature and governorship.

In either scenario⁷, these legislative bodies have become increasingly powerful in setting policy around health care, voting, education and reproductive rights.

The U.S. Supreme⁸ Court could give state legislatures power over federal elections

Much of Democrats' urgency stems from a case that the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear this fall. The outcome of Moore v. Harper, a fight over partisan⁹ gerrymandering in North Carolina, could give a fringe legal doctrine¹⁰ known as the 'independent state legislature theory' new legitimacy¹¹.

Proponents¹² of the theory argue that the U.S. Constitution gives state legislatures near total control over running federal elections, overriding¹³ both state constitutions and state courts. In an extreme scenario, the theory could be used as justification¹⁴ for a legislature "to refuse to certify¹⁵ the results of a presidential election and instead select its own slate¹⁶ of electors," counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice, a non-profit think tank and advocacy group, wrote in June.

That's a real concern for Democrats. After the 2020 election, many Republican lawmakers in states like Pennsylvania, Arizona and Wisconsin took steps to overturn the election or cast doubt on the results.

Four of the six conservative Supreme Court justices have indicated support for the theory in recent opinions.

Currently, the GOP holds majorities in the state legislatures of most major swing states. As a result, Democrats and Democratically-aligned outside spending groups are pouring money into competitive state legislature races where they see an opportunity to flip seats.

"A single Arizona state Senate seat could be more important than any other election in the country this year when it comes to the health and stability of our democracy," says Daniel Squadron, former state senator from New York and founder¹⁷ of the super PAC The States Project.

Spending on legislative races has skyrocketed

The States Project has committed to spending $60 million on these races. Forward Majority, another group promoting Democratic candidates in state legislatures, is investing $20 million this cycle, 70% of which will go to 25 state legislative races in three states: Pennsylvania, Arizona and Michigan.

Much of that spending is just to get voters on the ground in key areas to care about these races.

"Voters often don't know who the candidates are, they don't know what's at stake, and they don't always vote the whole ballot," says Vicky Hausman, founder and co-CEO of Forward Majority.

Those 25 elected officials could be a "bulwark¹⁸" against attempts, like those following the 2020 elections, to send independent electors to Washington and override¹⁹ the popular vote, says Hausman.

The official party arm, the DLCC, announced it had raised $45 million for these races as of October.

Still, these numbers pale in comparison to how much can be spent on a single congressional contest.

The Republican Party wants to protect its majorities. Gerrymandering helps.

The GOP's aim this cycle is largely to hold its ground.

"We've said from the start that our number one priority this year is defending our razor-thin majorities in states like Arizona, Michigan, and New Hampshire," RSLC Communications Director Andrew Romeo wrote to NPR. "That hasn't changed as we come down the stretch."

The overturning of Roe²⁰ v. Wade²¹ has boosted Democrats, making the possibility of a total "red wave" less certain. Conventional political wisdom dictates²² that they should win more seats, as the party not in the White House usually does during the midterms.

However, in many states Republicans have another kind of edge. In order to redraw district lines to benefit their own party after the 2010 census²³, Republicans put in a majority to win state legislatures that year. Even after another round of redistricting since then, very few races are actually in play. The party already holds the majority in 55 of the 88 chambers with elections this year, according to the RSLC.

"It's this endless feedback loop where the state legislature plays a hand in drawing its own lines, runs for office in those lines, and then can stay in office," says Sam Wang, professor and director of the Gerrymandering Project at Princeton University.

State legislatures are in the driver's seat on key issues from abortion²⁴ to voting

State legislatures have grown in influence and power over the last two decades, leading to a patchwork²⁵ of laws around the country on reproductive rights, voter registration²⁶, health care, education and guns.

"The decisions made in state capitals probably have a greater impact on people's routine activities than many of the decisions made in Washington, D.C.," says Peverill Squire²⁷, professor of political science at the University of Missouri.

Some of that is unintentional, as gridlock in Congress slowed down the pace of federal legislation, he says. Some of it is explicit²⁸, as when in 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down parts of the Voting Rights Act and allowed states to make changes to election law without prior federal approval.

When it comes to abortion rights, a change of power in some state chambers could either give the GOP the edge to override vetoes by Democratic governors to institute new restrictions²⁹ – for example in North Carolina – or could put more Democrats in a position to preserve abortion rights, in states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan.

"States and state legislatures in particular are setting the tone and direction for our country ... while the rest of us are distracted by the shiny objects inside the Beltway," says Squadron.

1 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

4 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

5 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

10 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

11 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。

12 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

13 overriding   

a.最主要的

参考例句：

• Development is of overriding importance. 发展是硬道理
• My overriding concern is to raise the standards of state education. 我最关心的是提高国民教育水平。

14 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

15 certify   

vt.证明，证实；发证书(或执照)给

参考例句：

• I can certify to his good character.我可以证明他品德好。
• This swimming certificate is to certify that I can swim one hundred meters.这张游泳证是用以证明我可以游100米远。

16 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

17 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

18 bulwark   

n.堡垒，保障，防御

参考例句：

• That country is a bulwark of freedom.那个国家是自由的堡垒。
• Law and morality are the bulwark of society.法律和道德是社会的防御工具。

19 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

20 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

21 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

22 dictates   

n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• Convention dictates that a minister should resign in such a situation. 依照常规部长在这种情况下应该辞职。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He always follows the dictates of common sense. 他总是按常识行事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

24 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

25 patchwork   

n.混杂物；拼缝物

参考例句：

• That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
• She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上，所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。

26 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

27 squire   

n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅

参考例句：

• I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
• The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。

28 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

29 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制