US Presidential Candidates Visit Key States on Election Eve

 U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt¹ Romney are making last-minute appeals to voters in key battleground states on the eve of Tuesday’s presidential election.

Both President Obama and Mr. Romney campaigned in states they need to win in an election that opinion polls say is very close.

Mr. Romney told a boisterous² rally in the state of Florida that he is the only candidate capable of bringing about change.

Both campaigns predicted the winner will be determined³ by which of their operations can get the most supporters to the polls.

In the state of Wisconsin, President Obama urged a crowd of cheering supporters to vote Tuesday.

U.S. presidential elections are not decided⁴ by the nationwide popular vote, but by an Electoral College system.  The importance of each state on the outcome of the election is approximately equivalent to its population. 

Both candidates campaigned in the critical state of Ohio on the eve of the election.

Larry Sabato is director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

“Ohio has been right 27 of the last 29 presidential elections," said Sabato. "It also is the key swing state this year because it is very difficult for Governor Romney to get to the magic number of 270 [needed to win] in the Electoral College if he does not carry Ohio’s 18 electoral votes. That is why there is such a giant battle there.”

Political polls say the race is very close nationally. But state-by-state surveys show Mr. Obama with narrow leads in many closely contested states likely to determine the outcome.

Analyst⁵ Larry Sabato said, “This is a close, competitive election, but the incumbent⁶, President Obama, has an edge in the key swing states. Because it is close, however, you cannot absolutely rule out an upset by Governor Romney.”

Along with the race for president, all of the seats in the House of Representatives and a third of the 100 Senate seats are being contested.

Most analysts⁷ predict Republicans will continue to hold their majority in the House, while the president’s Democratic Party is likely to maintain a slim majority in the Senate.  

Millions of voters already have cast ballots⁸ under early-voting rules. 

But the vast majority of the electorate⁹ still will head to polling places throughout the U.S. Tuesday.

1 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

2 boisterous   

adj.喧闹的，欢闹的

参考例句：

• I don't condescend to boisterous displays of it.我并不屈就于它热热闹闹的外表。
• The children tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play.孩子们经常是先静静地聚集在一起，不一会就开始吵吵嚷嚷戏耍开了。

3 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

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 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。