美国国家公共电台 NPR Tension And Protests Mark Trump Voting Commission Meeting

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

President Trump¹'s Election Integrity Commission went to New Hampshire yesterday to hear from witnesses about voter attitudes and voter fraud. The panel's stated mission is to find ways to boost confidence in the integrity of U.S. elections. Critics say it could do the opposite. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

PAM FESSLER, BYLINE²: One thing commissioners⁴ did yesterday was try to clear the air. The panel's Republican co-chairman, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, recently wrote that New Hampshire had enough voter fraud last year to likely change the outcome of a Senate race. That claim didn't sit well with fellow commissioner³, New Hampshire's Democratic secretary of state, Bill Gardner, who also happened to be host of Tuesday's meeting. Gardner said the problem was that Kobach had questioned whether his state's election was real and valid⁵.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BILL GARDNER: And it is real and valid. And it...

FESSLER: Those applauding were members of the audience, which included Democrats⁶ and voting rights advocates who think the commission's trying to make the case that voter fraud is rampant⁷ to justify⁸ restrictions⁹ like tough photo ID requirements. They note that the panel was created after Trump claimed, without evidence, that up to 5 million people voted illegally last year. Yesterday, Kobach admitted that his claims about New Hampshire were premature¹⁰. He said, without further research...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KRIS KOBACH: We will never know the answer regarding legitimacy¹¹ of that particular election.

FESSLER: But witnesses told the panel that doing such research won't be easy, that voter data is limited. And it's hard to know why voters do or don't go to the polls. Some commissioners suggest it's because people don't trust the results, but University of New Hampshire political scientist Andrew Smith said the U.S. Census¹² has found other reasons people don't vote.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ANDREW SMITH: They just didn't bother. They weren't interested. They forgot. It was basically issues of convenience and noninterest were the major reasons.

FESSLER: Still, the panel heard from other witnesses about studies they conducted that they said showed numerous cases of illegal voting. Ken¹³ Block is with Simpatico Software Systems, which reviewed voter data in 21 states.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KEN BLOCK: There's a high likelihood of voter fraud based on what we've done so far with our analysis. There's likely a lot more to be found, and there's many different things to look at.

FESSLER: But many election experts have challenged his results. And Commissioner Matthew Dunlap, the Democratic secretary of state of Maine, says he thinks the problems Block found are more likely the result of human error.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MATTHEW DUNLAP: What we've discovered, as we've done some of these exact same inquiries¹⁴ that you do, is that people check off the wrong box. They make a mistake. The clerk gets confused.

FESSLER: It's something the commission wants to explore more. Kobach has asked states to share detailed¹⁵ voter information with the panel so it can look for any evidence of fraud. A number of states have balked¹⁶ at that request, so it's unclear what, if anything, the commission can do. Pam Fessler, NPR News.

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 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 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

4 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

5 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？

6 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》

7 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

8 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

11 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

12 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

13 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

14 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

16 balked   

v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑

参考例句：

• He balked in his speech. 他忽然中断讲演。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They balked the robber's plan. 他们使强盗的计划受到挫败。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》