评论
打印
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.
今年，美国选民将会参加所谓的中期选举。
The elections are called this because they happen nearly two years – or about the middle point – into the term of the U.S. president.
之所以叫“中期选举”是因为其在美国总统任期的近两年（即大约中间点的时候）举行。
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are elected every two years.
美国众议院议员每两年选举一次。
So in the midterms, all 435 House seats are decided.
因此，在中期选举中，将决定所有435个众议院席位。
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.
此外，美国参议院每两年就有三分之一的议员当选或在任期结束时离任。
American voters will also be choosing governors, state lawmakers and local officials.
美国选民还将选举州长、州议员和地方官员。
The election results will decide which party controls Congress, as well as state offices and legislatures.
选举结果将决定哪个政党控制国会、州政府办公室和立法机构。
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.
要在联邦和州选举中投票，必须是年满18岁的美国公民。
The person also has to meet the state residency requirements.
且还必须符合州居留要求。
In every state except North Dakota, people must also register to become voters.
除了北达科他州，每个州的人们也必须登记才能成为选民。
This year, more than 80 million Americans will have the chance to vote in a language other than English.
今年，超过8000万美国人将会有机会用英语以外的语言投票。
That is because U.S. federal law guarantees that certain groups of people can receive language assistance in the voting process.
这是因为美国联邦法律保证某些群体的人可以在投票过程中获得语言帮助。
Gabe Osterhout is a researcher at the Idaho Policy Institute at Boise State University.
加布·奥斯特豪特是位于爱达荷州的博伊西州立大学政策研究所的研究员。
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.”
他说，“我们的想法是让历史上被排除在选举进程之外的群体参加选举，我们的使命是让其中一些群体更容易参加选举。”
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law to protect the right to vote for African Americans mainly in the South.
1965年的《投票权法案》被签署为法律，以保护主要生活在南方的非洲裔美国人的投票权。
The act was expanded in 1975 to include certain language minorities.
1975年，该法案扩大到包括某些语言少数群体。
These included Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Latinos and Asian Americans.
其中包括美洲原住民、阿拉斯加原住民、拉丁美洲人和亚裔美国人。
Jim Tucker is a lawyer with the Voting Rights Project at the nonprofit Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
吉姆·塔克是非营利性组织“维护公民合法权利律师委员会”投票权项目的律师。
He noted that for citizens with limited knowledge of English, voting information can be “a barrier to the ability to participate.”
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”。
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，美国人口普查局就会选择哪些语言少数群体将会获得母语信息方面的帮助。
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.
这一决定是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1万名合格选民会说有限的英语。
Local elections officials are then required to offer voting materials, including ballots, in that second language.
地方选举官员被要求提供第二语言的投票材料，包括选票。
In December 2021, the U.S. Census identified 331 areas that meet the requirements ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
2021年12月，美国人口普查局在2022年中期选举之前确定了331个符合要求的地区。
Most of the covered areas, called jurisdictions, are in three states, California, Florida and Texas.
大多数被覆盖的区域，即管辖区域，位于加利福尼亚州、佛罗里达州和得克萨斯州这三个州。
Those states must provide Spanish-language voting materials in every statewide election.
这些州必须在每一次全州选举中提供西班牙语的投票材料。
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.”
根据1996年11月和2000年11月的登记信息和投票数据，有证据表明，增加第二语言的投票材料“对管辖区域的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.
这项研究是由迈克尔·琼斯-科雷亚教授和伊斯雷尔·韦斯梅尔·马诺教授进行的。
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.
研究发现，在有语言要求的地区，拉丁美洲选民的投票率比那些没有提供西班牙语材料和援助的地区高出11%。
The professors also found that voter registration among Latinos was 15 percent higher in areas that provided language assistance than those that did not.
两位教授还发现，在提供语言援助的地区，拉丁美洲选民的登记率比没有提供语言援助的地区高出15%。
Tucker observed large participation increases in all four groups covered under the language requirements.
塔克注意到，在有语言要求的所有四个群体中，参与者的数量都有大幅增加。
These include American Indians, Alaska Natives, Latino or Spanish-speaking voters, and Asian Americans who speak Asian languages since 1975.
其中包括美国印第安人、阿拉斯加原住民、拉丁美洲人或说西班牙语的选民，以及1975年以来说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.
《投票权法案》本应在1970年结束，但它已经被延长了五次。
The last extension, for 25 years, came in 2006.
上一次延期是在2006年，延长了25年。
I'm Jill Robbins.
吉尔·罗宾斯为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
