美国国家公共电台 NPR Ahead Of 2020 Election, Voting Rights Becomes A Key Issue For Democrats

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Democrats¹ are getting clearer on their priorities for 2020. And one of them is voting rights. Here's NPR's Miles Parks.

MILES PARKS, BYLINE²: Stacey Abrams took the stage in Atlanta on Tuesday night for the Democratic response to President Trump³'s State of the Union. She gave a sort of party policy greatest hits - health care, climate change. Then she went somewhere it looks like Democrats are planning to go a lot the next two years - voting.

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STACEY ABRAMS: Voter suppression is real - from making it harder to register and stay on the rolls to moving and closing polling places to rejecting lawful⁴ ballots⁶. We can no longer ignore these threats to democracy.

PARKS: The 2018 midterms featured accusations⁷ of suppression in places where high-profile Democrats lost - in Georgia with Abrams and in Texas with Beto O'Rourke. President Trump also presents a clear foil. He's continued to call for measures that would make voting harder, like strict photo ID laws, without providing evidence for his claims about widespread, in-person voter fraud. All this has prompted Democrats to focus more on voting. Here's Senator Kamala Harris at her presidential campaign launch event last month.

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KAMALA HARRIS: We will secure our elections and our critical infrastructure⁸ to protect our democracy.

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PARKS: What's unclear is whether any of this will actually mean concrete changes before the 2020 election. House Democrats released their marquee bill last month that has dozens of proposals aimed at strengthening American democracy. More than 50 pages were devoted⁹ to voting issues alone, things like requiring paper ballots and online voter registration¹⁰, even making Election Day a federal holiday. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made it clear on the Senate floor that the bill is going nowhere.

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MITCH MCCONNELL: What it really seems to be is a package of urgent measures to rewrite the rules of American politics for the exclusive benefit of the Democratic Party.

PARKS: There is a chance that more modest tweaks could become law this year, however. At a meeting with state election officials last weekend, Senate staffers said lawmakers would soon reintroduce the bipartisan Secure Elections Act. That bill would improve communications between federal agencies and the state officials who run elections. But it probably won't include any money for new equipment.

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JIM CONDOS: Timing¹² is really of the importance.

PARKS: That's Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos, who notes presidential primaries are just 12 months away.

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CONDOS: If you're going to get money to the states, we really need it this year.

PARKS: At the meeting, a number of state officials said it was frustrating¹³ to hear Democrats talking about voting as a national problem just months after a midterm election with the highest voter turnout in 50 years. John Merrill is the Republican secretary of state of Alabama. He's expecting Democrats to use his state as an example on the campaign trail.

JOHN MERRILL: They'll come to our state. And they'll talk about voter suppression and how we're preventing folks from participating. And they're entitled their own opinion but not their own facts. When we've broken every record in the history of the state for voter participation¹⁴ in the last four elections that we've had, there's nothing you can say except Roll Tide.

PARKS: While the state has increased its vote totals over the past decade, Alabama's voter turnout rate still ranks among the lowest in the country. And overall, the U.S. trails most developed countries in terms of the percentage of adults who vote. It's a political cliche¹⁵ at this point to say higher turnout does favor Democrats. That's because the voters with historically low turnout rates, like nonwhite voters, tend to vote Democratic.

But while it's generally in their political favor to argue for easier access to the ballot⁵ box, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla says it's also an expression of the country's values.

ALEX PADILLA: We're all in agreement that our democracy is strongest when we have the highest levels of participation possible. It should not be a partisan¹¹ issue. But unfortunately, it has become one.

PARKS: And judging by the past few weeks, it will continue to be one, at least through 2020. Miles Parks, NPR News, Washington.

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1 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》

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

5 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。

6 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》

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

10 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？

11 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。

12 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

13 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

15 cliche   

n./a.陈词滥调(的)；老生常谈(的)；陈腐的

参考例句：

• You should always try to avoid the use of cliche. 你应该尽量避免使用陈词滥调。
• The old cliche is certainly true:the bigger car do mean bigger profits.有句老话倒的确说得不假:车大利大。