美国国家公共电台 NPR NPR/Marist Poll: 1 In 3 Americans Thinks A Foreign Country Will Change Midterm Votes

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

A poll from NPR and Marist College out today suggests elections officials are right to worry about voters' confidence. About 1 out of every 3 respondents thinks a foreign country is likely to change vote tallies¹ and results in the upcoming midterm elections. Joining us now is Miles Parks, who covers voting for NPR. Hi, Miles.

MILES PARKS, BYLINE²: Hi, Ari.

SHAPIRO: What do you make of this figure - 1 in 3 afraid that this will happen even though there's no evidence that it's happened in the past?

PARKS: Right. I'm going to be honest with you. I was completely shocked by seeing this number. There is no evidence in the history of American politics that a country has ever affected³ vote tallies. What was really interesting to me is that it did give credence⁴ to something I've been hearing over and over again from election officials that I've been talking to this year who are worried about this Russian interference story in the ether that voters aren't really getting the nuance⁵ here when they hear about a voter registration⁶ system being hacked⁷. They're concerned that voters aren't fully⁸ understanding that that's not affecting tallying⁹. That's not affecting the results of who actually won the election. And that's really, really bad for voter confidence long-term.

SHAPIRO: Who are the 1 in 3 that are most concerned about this?

PARKS: So it breaks down to mostly Democrats¹⁰ and mostly non-white voters. And that non-white voter number is really interesting as a demographic in a lot of places in this poll. More than 50 percent of non-white voters think there's going to be some votes in the November midterms that are just not going to get counted. And then other data in this poll also suggests that voting is harder for minorities, that they're waiting in line longer and that they're traveling farther to get to their polling place. So it is interesting that this skepticism about Russia changing votes also comes along with a group who's historically been disenfranchised when it comes to voting.

On the other end of the spectrum¹¹, only about 13 percent of Republicans think a foreign country is going to manipulate results, and more than 70 percent of Republicans think the U.S. is prepared for the midterm elections.

SHAPIRO: Could all of that have an impact on voter turnout in November?

PARKS: I was really interested in that question, so I went and talked to David Becker, who founded the Center for Election Innovation and Research. What he basically told me is, no, he doesn't think it's going to have any effect in November. You look at the primaries we've seen already this year, and there's been historic turnout in a lot of Democratic primaries. What he said is he thinks that the Trump¹² effect is going to be stronger than any negative effect that this story is having on elections this year. But long-term, he has a lot of worries about this partisan¹³ divide that's coming with elections. Here he is.

DAVID BECKER: I'm not optimistic. I worry that we're in a point in time right now where most can only view facts through partisan lenses. And this is not only one party that's doing this. This is both parties. We are giving voters so many reasons not to vote.

SHAPIRO: Does this poll have any good news about election security?

PARKS: I think the good news is that the majority of people still think elections are fair here. A small majority - about 53 percent - think the U.S. is prepared for midterms. But I think the real good news is that people are paying attention to a lot of this story, a lot of the election interference issue in a way they weren't before this year. You look at paper ballots¹⁴, for instance. We asked respondents how they felt about paper ballots versus¹⁵ electronic voting. And you're seeing across-the-board support for paper ballots, which is something cybersecurities experts really highly recommend.

Also, when you talk to local election officials, you're just hearing a difference in the way they're talking about this issue. Cybersecurity is a part of the job description in a way it wasn't in, say, 2015. That's really become apparent, and it's something that's been actionable since 2016.

SHAPIRO: That's NPR's Miles Parks. Thanks, Miles.

PARKS: Thank you.

1 tallies   

n.账( tally的名词复数 )；符合；（计数的）签；标签v.计算，清点( tally的第三人称单数 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• Cash on hand tallies with the figure in the accounts. 现款跟账上的数目没有出入。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He tallies his own marks. 他把自己的得分记了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 credence   

n.信用，祭器台，供桌，凭证

参考例句：

• Don't give credence to all the gossip you hear.不要相信你听到的闲话。
• Police attach credence to the report of an unnamed bystander.警方认为一位不知姓名的目击者的报告很有用。

5 nuance   

n.(意义、意见、颜色)细微差别

参考例句：

• These users will easily learn each nuance of the applications they use.这些用户会很快了解他们所使用程序的每一细微差别。
• I wish I hadn't become so conscious of every little nuance.我希望我不要变得这样去思索一切琐碎之事。

6 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

7 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 tallying   

v.计算，清点( tally的现在分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• In 2007 the state set a U.S. record, tallying 141 twisters. 该州在2007年以总计出现了141个龙卷风而创下了一个美国记录。 来自互联网
• We charge extra fee at 100% of the rates of tallying fees. 我们按理货收费率的100%收取附加费。 来自互联网

10 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》

11 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

12 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。

13 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。

14 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》

15 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。