VOA慢速英语--美国两党拒绝特朗普推迟选举的建议

United States President Donald Trump¹ on Thursday raised the idea of delaying the nation's November 3 presidential election. However, Republicans and Democrats² immediately dismissed the suggestion saying the power belongs to Congress, not the president.

Trump wrote Thursday on Twitter that mail-in voting will lead to "the most INACCURATE³ & FRAUDULENT Election in history." He added, "Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???"

The tweet came shortly after the government reported bad economic news. The Commerce Department said the U.S. economy shrank at a yearly rate of 32.9 percent in the months of April to June: a record for the country.

With just over three months until Election Day, the president is also running behind former Vice⁴ President Joe Biden in many national and states' election polls. In addition, an increasing number of American states are making it easier for people to vote by mail during the coronavirus outbreak.

Several members of the president's Republican Party, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, quickly rejected the idea of delaying the election. McConnell told a Kentucky television station, "Never in the history of the country, through wars, depressions, and the Civil War have we ever not had a federally scheduled election on time, and we'll find a way to do that again this Nov. 3."

Democratic U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren chairs the House committee overseeing election security. She wrote in an email to reporters, "Only Congress can change the date of our elections" and Congress will not consider it.

Republican Governor Chris Sununu of the northeastern state of New Hampshire added "Make no mistake: the election will happen in New Hampshire on November 3rd. End of story."

The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to set the dates of the U.S. presidential elections. Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said, "Since 1845 we've had an election on the first Tuesday after November 1st and we're going to have one again this year." Rubio added that people "should have confidence in it."

Does mail-in voting lead to fraud?

Trump has previously⁵ claimed that mail-in voting will lead to fraud. But this is the first time he ever raised the idea of pushing back the election.

Hogan Gidley, the Trump campaign's spokesman, said "The President is just raising a question about the chaos⁶ Democrats have created with their insistence⁷ on all mail-in voting." He added that the state of New York was "sending every registered voter a ballot⁸ whether they asked for one or not."

Just weeks ago, Trump refused to say whether he would accept the results of the upcoming November election. When asked by Chris Wallace of Fox News, he said, "No, I'm not going to just say ‘yes.' I'm not going to say ‘no,' and I didn't last time, either." Trump made a similar statement during the 2016 election.

During primary elections, some states had difficulty finding workers for Election Day. Many reduced places for in-person voting. Voters and health officials have also expressed concerns about the possible dangers of spreading the virus during in-person voting.

For the general election, California has already announced plans to send ballots⁹ to all registered voters and to also have in-person voting. But many American states are still setting up their plans during the coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier this month, Biden told the host of The Daily Show Trevor Noah that Trump was "going to try to steal this election." "This is a guy who said that all mail-in ballots are fraudulent, voting by mail, while he sits behind the desk in the Oval Office and writes his mail-in ballot to vote in the primary," Biden said.

I'm Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

fraudulent –adj. something done to trick someone for the purpose of getting something valuable

polls –n. (pl.) an activity meant to find out what the public thinks in which people are asked their opinion on an issue or who they support in an election

outbreak –n. a sudden start or increase in the spread of a disease or fighting

chaos –n. complete confusion and disorder, a state in which behavior and events are not controlled by anything

1 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。

2 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》

3 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

7 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

8 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。

9 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》