Record numbers of Americans have already cast their ballots in early voting - more than 28 million people in 34 of the 50 states. Election statistics and a new opinion survey show that registered Democrats are turning out to vote early in far greater numbers than Republicans. In several states, massive early turnout has forced voters to wait for hours in long lines.
在总统选举中提前投票的选民人数创纪录，在美国50个州中的34个州，已经有2800多万人投了票。选举数据和最新民调结果显示，提前投票的民主党登记选民远远超过共和党选民。在几个州里，由于提前投票的人太多，选民们不得不排几个小时的长队。
Michael McDonald is an elections expert at George Mason University in Virginia. He says data from state and county officials indicate that more Americans have participated in early voting this year than in any U.S. election.
迈克尔.麦克唐纳是维吉尼亚州乔治.梅森大学的选举专家，他说，各州县的官方数据显示，今年参加提前投票的选民多于以往任何一届选举。
"We have statistics that we can point to right now that suggest that 28.8 million people have so far voted in this election," he said. "We are expecting 40 million people when all the numbers are compiled. And that will be about 30 percent of the 136 million people that we are expecting to vote."
他说：“我们有数据显示，现在有2880万人已经在这次选举中投了票。我们预期全部统计完之后，人数会达到4000万人，也就是我们估计将参加投票的全美1亿3千6百万选民总数的大约30%。”
McDonald says that if 136 million people go to the polls, that would mean a turnout of 64 percent of the electorate.
麦克唐纳说，如果有1亿3千6百万选民投票，今年的投票率就将高达64%。
"We may quite literally see turnout of a magnitude that we have not seen in a century of American politics," he said.
他说：“我们基本上可以看到一次美国政治百年来没有过的投票热潮。”
As of Monday, more registered Democrats than Republicans have cast ballots in the 26 early voting states where election statistics are available.
到星期一为止，在26个举办先期投票的州当中，可以得到的数据显示，参加提前投票的民主党选民多于共和党选民。
Party affiliation does not necessarily predict which candidate a voter will choose. But analysts note that trends seem to favor Democratic candidate Barack Obama in several states. They say this is significant because early voting traditionally has favored Republicans.
党派身份并不一定能够预测一位选民会推选哪位候选人。但是分析人士注意到，几个州的趋势似乎都有利于民主党候选人奥巴马，他们说这很重要，因为提前投票传统上是有利于共和党的。
A new Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll finds that nearly 30 percent of voters say they have already cast their ballots. Nearly 60 percent of these voters say they voted for Obama, 40 percent say they cast their ballots for McCain.
华盛顿邮报和美国广播公司的最新联合民调显示，将近30%的选民说他们已经投了票，其中近60%的人选奥巴马，40%的人选麦凯恩。
According to George Mason University's Michael McDonald, massive turnout at early voting offices has put a strain on the system.
乔治.梅森大学的麦克唐纳教授指出，大量的选民提前投票，给这个系统带来了压力。
"What's happening here is that local election officials only have a limited number of polling places available for early voting in person," he said. "And those polling places seem to be completely overwhelmed. As we look from state to state where they do have these polling places, in many places they have had to extend hours. They have had to open up additional polling places to accommodate the demand for early voting."
他说：“问题是地方选举官员只能提供有限的提前投票点。这些投票点看来都是人满为患。我们逐个观察设立提前投票站的州，很多投票站不得不延长时间，不得不开放更多的投票站，来满足提前投票的要求。”
Some voters have had to wait as long as 10 hours to cast their ballots, leaving some analysts to worry about the lines voters might face on Election Day. Michael McDonald says that if election officials in states that do not offer early voting are overwhelmed by high turnout, it could increase the momentum for a national early voting law. Voters in the state of Maryland will decide on Tuesday whether that state should offer early voting in future elections.
有些地方的选民不得不等候10小时才能投票，这使一些分析人士担心大选投票日当天选民可能要大排长龙。麦克唐纳说，如果那些不允许提前投票的州的选举官员难以应对大批的选民，可能会推动一项全国范围的提前投票法出台。星期二，马里兰州的选民就将决定他们的州是否允许在未来的选举中提前投票。 |