美国国家公共电台 NPR--Counties in Arizona, Pennsylvania fail to certify election results by legal deadlines

Counties in Arizona, Pennsylvania fail to certify¹ election results by legal deadlines

Transcript²

Two counties in a couple of swing states turned what is usually an uneventful step in the election process into a political flashpoint on Monday.

Officials in rural, Republican-controlled Cochise County of southeastern Arizona, near Tucson, voted to delay certifying³ the results of this year's midterm elections and to miss the state's legal deadline of Monday, despite finding no legitimate⁴ problems with the local counts.

"There is no reason for us to delay," said the Democratic chair of the county's board of supervisors⁶, Ann English, whose vote was outnumbered by the county's two Republican supervisors, Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd.

The move risks the exclusion⁷ of more than 47,000 Arizonans' votes from the state's final, official tally⁸, and it has set off court action. The nonprofit Arizona Alliance for Retired⁹ Americans and a Cochise County voter, represented in part by the Elias Law Group, are suing the county supervisors to try to force them to certify by Thursday.

Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who was elected this month to be Arizona's next governor, filed court papers also asking a state court to order the county's supervisors to certify by Thursday so that Hobbs can complete the statewide certification by Dec. 8, the last possible day allowed after the Dec. 5 deadline under state law.

"Absent this Court's intervention¹⁰, the Secretary will have no choice but to complete the statewide canvass¹¹ by December 8 without Cochise County's votes included," Hobbs' attorneys wrote in a court filing. "Thus, the Board's inaction not only violates the plain language of the statute¹², but also undermines a basic tenet of free and fair elections in this state: ensuring that every Arizonan's voice is heard."

And in northeastern Pennsylvania's Luzerne County, some 117,000 votes may end up left out of official results after the local board of elections deadlocked¹³ along party lines when its fifth member, a Democrat⁵, abstained¹⁴ from voting on whether to certify. Monday is the state's certification deadline for counties that have not received legally valid¹⁵ recount petitions.

Pennsylvania's Department of State has contacted the county's officials "to inquire about the board's decision and their intended next steps," spokesperson Ellen Lyon said in an email. The Democratic board member who abstained from voting told The Associated Press after the hearing that he planned to vote in favor of certifying at another meeting, set for Wednesday.

Election certifications have gone relatively¹⁶ smoothly¹⁷ despite these delays

For the most part, however, the local certification of midterm election results has proceeded without much controversy¹⁸ — in Pennsylvania, Arizona and across the country.

In the corner of Arizona opposite of Cochise County, another Republican-controlled community — Mohave County — signaled it would potentially not certify the election results. Last week, GOP officials there said they wanted to hold off on making a decision until Monday's deadline in order to make a political statement. And after recessing¹⁹ their meeting Monday, Mohave's board of supervisors ultimately voted to certify.

Still, many election watchers had been raising concerns that Republican officials may disrupt the process for making the election results official after GOP leaders in Cochise County voted on Nov. 18 to wait to decide whether to certify the results until the legal deadline on Monday.

"We also knew coming into this election after the last cycle and what we saw in Otero County [in New Mexico's primary this year]," explained Tammy Patrick, a former Arizona election official who's now a member of the National Task Force on Election Crises, during a briefing with reporters last week, "that certification would be another mundane²⁰, banal²¹ administrative²² procedure that was going to be leveraged²³ and used for partisan²⁴ potential gain or partisan rhetoric²⁵, at least. And that's what we're seeing here."

Republican supervisors in Cochise County cited claims about the certification of election equipment, which Kori Lorick, Arizona's state election director, confirmed had been tested and properly certified²⁶. Still, Crosby and Judd have called for a meeting on Friday to discuss the claims.

Before Monday's vote, Lorick said in a statement that Arizona's secretary of state "will use all available legal remedies to compel compliance²⁷ with Arizona law and protect Cochise County voters' right to have their votes counted" if the board failed to complete its "non-discretionary duty."

There's been a lot of Republican scrutiny²⁸ over results in Arizona's Maricopa County

The controversy over local vote certifications comes as Republicans continue to criticize the election administration in Arizona's Maricopa County, the state's largest county and home to Phoenix²⁹.

Maricopa's GOP leadership has defended its handling of the election and said no voters were disenfranchised as a result of technical issues that cropped up on Election Day. Still, Republican candidates for governor and state attorney general, among others, have questioned the results and sought more information after electronic vote-counting tabulators malfunctioned³⁰ early on Nov. 8 in some of the county's voting locations.

And Abraham Hamadeh, the GOP attorney general candidate, has taken steps that could turn Arizona's state-level certification into another flashpoint.

Last week, Hamadeh and the Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit³¹ asking an Arizona state court to issue an order that would stop Hobbs, Arizona's secretary of state, from issuing a certificate of election to the race's apparent winner, Democrat Kris Mayes. The razor-thin margin³² between Hamadeh and Mayes means the race is poised³³ for an automatic recount, which cannot begin until the statewide certification is finished.

In court papers filed on Monday, Hobbs' attorneys signaled another potential controversy that could emerge if there is any delay past the Dec. 5 deadline for statewide certification, which state law requires to be done in the presence of the governor, attorney general and chief justice of the Arizona Supreme³⁴ Court.

"While all three are available on December 5," the court filing says, "they have not confirmed whether they will be able to attend a later date."

1 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。

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 certifying   

（尤指书面）证明( certify的现在分词 )； 发证书给…； 证明（某人）患有精神病； 颁发（或授予）专业合格证书

参考例句：

• Signed Commercial in quintuplicate, certifying merchandise to be of Chinese origin. 签署商业发票一式五份，证明产品的原产地为中国。
• Other documents certifying the truthfulness of the contents of the advertisements. （三）确认广告内容真实性的其他证明文件。

4 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句

7 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

8 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

11 canvass   

v.招徕顾客，兜售；游说；详细检查，讨论

参考例句：

• Mr. Airey Neave volunteered to set up an organisation to canvass votes.艾雷·尼夫先生自告奋勇建立了一个拉票组织。
• I will canvass the floors before I start painting the walls.开始粉刷墙壁之前，我会详细检查地板。

12 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

13 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

14 abstained   

v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票）

参考例句：

• Ten people voted in favour, five against and two abstained. 十人投票赞成，五人反对，两人弃权。
• They collectively abstained (from voting) in the elections for local councilors. 他们在地方议会议员选举中集体弃权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

16 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

17 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

18 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

19 recessing   

v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的现在分词 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭

参考例句：

• Beds, recessing into walls, are to be serviced by machine from outside. 床能够缩进墙里，可以在外面用机器整理。 来自辞典例句
• Recessing the oxidizer tube improves stability. 氧化剂管的凹陷使稳定性增强。 来自辞典例句

20 mundane   

adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的

参考例句：

• I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作，而不是一份平凡无奇的。
• I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的，即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。

21 banal   

adj.陈腐的，平庸的

参考例句：

• Making banal remarks was one of his bad habits.他的坏习惯之一就是喜欢说些陈词滥调。
• The allegations ranged from the banal to the bizarre.从平淡无奇到离奇百怪的各种说法都有。

22 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

23 leveraged   

促使…改变( leverage的过去式和过去分词 )； [美国英语]杠杆式投机，（使）举债经营，（使）利用贷款进行投机

参考例句：

• Chrysler has traditionally been a highly leveraged company. 克莱斯勒一向是一家周转十分灵活的公司。
• Leveraged recaps have become popular for a number of reasons. 杠杆资本重组的大行其道有好几个原因。

24 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。

25 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

26 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

27 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

28 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

29 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

30 malfunctioned   

发生故障(malfunction的过去式与过去分词)

参考例句：

• Is there any way the dye pack malfunctioned back at the bank? 什么能使爆色板在银行内就失效？ 来自电影对白
• The malfunctioned roller of his mouse is under repair. 他鼠标的滚轴失灵了，正在修呢。 来自互联网

31 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

32 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

33 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

34 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。