IN THE NEWS - Voter Registration Rises in U.S.

IN THE NEWS - Voter Registration¹ Rises in U.S.
By Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: Saturday, October 09, 2004

This is Steve Ember with In the News in VOA Special English.

 
President Bush and Senator John Kerry take part in their second debate, held Friday night at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. For 90 minutes they answered questions from undecided voters.
Voter lists are growing as the United States prepares for general elections on November second. Some people think the increase in possible new voters is enough to influence the presidential election. But political experts are not sure which candidate will be helped more, Republican President George W. Bush or Democratic Senator John Kerry.

Americans in a number of states had until this week to sign up to vote. Others have more time to register. Six of the fifty states permit registration on Election Day.

Both major parties and several activist² groups have been trying to sign up voters in the battleground states. These are states like Florida and Ohio where the vote is expected to be especially close.

Republicans have led many of their efforts in areas away from cities. Democrats³ and community groups have worked hard in cities to register minorities and young people, especially students. People under the age of twenty-five have the lowest voting rates.

In some poor and minority areas of Ohio, officials report four times as many new registrations⁴ as in the two thousand election. Four years ago, President Bush won Ohio by a narrow victory over Al Gore⁵.

In Pennsylvania, election officials say voter registration in the city of Philadelphia is at the highest level in twenty years. Officials in the states of New Jersey⁶ and Georgia also say they expect big increases in voter lists.

Political experts link the interest this year in part to the disputed election in Florida four years ago. Mister Bush won the state by five hundred thirty-seven votes.

But the efforts to sign up and process new voters have led in some cases to accusations⁷ of wrongdoing. Investigations⁸ are under way in Michigan, Florida and Ohio. On Thursday, the Florida Democratic Party went to court in a dispute with the state over incomplete voter registration papers.

The documents have two places where people had to confirm that they are American citizens. They had to sign a statement. And they had to mark a box. Some people failed to mark the box. A state official told counties that, under the law, they should reject those forms. The Florida Democratic Party disagrees.

All American citizens eighteen and older may vote, although people can lose that right if they are found guilty of a serious crime. Groups that have led voter registration drives this year say they will now work to get people to vote.

How many Americans vote? The Census⁹ Bureau says sixty percent of all the adult citizens in the country voted in the two thousand election. But the reason groups want more people to register is because eighty-six percent of those who were signed up to vote in the last election did vote.

In the News, in VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.

1 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？

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 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》

4 registrations   

n.登记( registration的名词复数 )；登记项目；登记（或注册、挂号）人数；（管风琴）音栓配合（法）

参考例句：

• In addition to the check-in procedures, the room clerks are customarily responsible for recording advance registrations. 除了办理住宿手续外，客房登记员按惯例还负责预约登记。 来自辞典例句
• Be the Elekta expert for products registrations in China. 成为在中国注册产品的医科达公司专家。 来自互联网

5 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

6 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

8 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

9 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。