纽约时报 一张遍布缺陷的选举地图暴露了所有问题(5)（在线收听）

Restrictive trends have accelerated since the Supreme Court invalidated part of the Voting Rights Act five years ago,

五年前最高法院宣布《投票权法案》部分条例失效以来，限制选民投票的趋势就一直在加剧，

with a number of states finding new ways to make it harder to vote.

若干州还想出了新的办法妨碍选民投票。

Some have aggressively purged voters' registrations for inactivity.

一些州大肆清除选民登记的不投票信息。

Still others have closed polling places.

还有一些州甚至关闭了投票站。

Suspicions of political motives have fueled distrust and anger.

对这些举措背后的政治动机的怀疑加剧了人们对政府的不信任和愤怒。

When construction required relocating the only polling place in the heavily Hispanic Dodge City, Kan., this month,

本月，因建筑工程需要，堪萨斯州带有浓厚拉美风情的道奇市唯一一个投票点面临搬迁，

the local election official, a Republican, moved it four miles away, outside the city limits.

当地的选举官员，一名共和党人，便将该投票点迁到了4英里以外一个不再属于该市管辖范围的地方。

Democrats cried foul, seeing a plot to discourage voting, which Republicans denied.

眼见这一妨碍投票的阴谋，民主党人大呼不公，但共和党人拒绝承认这一点。

Democrats' concerns in Kansas were heightened

之后，由于共和党国务卿克里斯·科巴赫参高调的打击投票舞弊运动一事，

because of the involvement of the Republican secretary of state, Kris Kobach, in high-profile campaigns to crack down on voter fraud.

民主党人对堪萨斯州投票情况的忧虑进一步加深。

Mr. Kobach championed a multistate system of checking registrations to prevent voters from casting ballots in two places at once,

因为科巴赫声援了多个州都在实行的一个防止选民在两个地方投票的登记审查系统，

a system that critics contend is seriously flawed.

批评者则认为该系统存在严重缺陷。

A recent nonpartisan analysis estimated that it mistakenly flagged about 200 legitimate voters for every double registration it caught.

据最近一项无党派分析估计，该系统每次捕获到双重登记现象，都会误判将近200个合格选民的选票。

Greg Shufeldt, an assistant professor of political science at Butler University who co-authored a recent study on electoral integrity,

格雷格·舒菲尔特，巴特勒大学政治学助理教授兼最近一份关于选举公正性的研究的联名作者，

said groups most affected by restrictive voting laws tended to lose confidence in the system, which can limit turnout as much as the laws themselves.

表示，受限制性投票法影响最大的群体往往会对该选举系统失去信心，由此对选举结果造成的影响不亚于法律本身存在缺陷的影响。

"If you feel the system is set up in a way to disenfranchise people,

“如果你觉得选举系统的设置方式存在剥夺民众权利的问题，

and you feel that the wheels of government are turning in a way to make people less likely to participate,

带动政府运转的轮子在妨碍大家参与国家事务，

eventually you're going to have less trust in the system," Dr. Shufeldt said.

最终，你对系统的信任就会降低，” 舒菲尔特博士说。

"And ultimately, you'll become less likely to participate."

“最终，你便不太可能再参与国家事务了。”

Mr. Kobach, who lost the race for governor in Kansas this month, had been tapped to lead a White House panel investigating voter fraud

本月在堪萨斯州长竞选中败了下风的科巴赫被任命为了白宫调查投票欺诈的小组的负责人，

after Mr. Trump asserted, without evidence, that voting by millions of undocumented immigrants cost him the popular vote in 2016.

因为特朗普断言，但并没有给出证据，就是因为那数百万无证移民的投票，他才在2016年的全民公投中失利的。

The panel disbanded without finding any widespread fraud.

该小组最终因为没有发现任何表明存在普遍欺诈的证据而解散了。