VOA标准英语2012--Primary Balloting Sets Stage for US Presidential Election

Primary Balloting¹ Sets Stage for US Presidential Election

The political process in the United States to pick the candidates to run for president is a long one, and the next stop is the primary election in the northeastern U.S. state of New Hampshire. On January 10, the state holds the campaign's first regular primary after the opening caucuses² in Iowa. Primary elections set the stage for the November, 2012 showdown between the Democratic and Republican parties.

New Hampshire is small in size and population, but when the state votes, it commands the attention of the entire nation. And, the results reverberate³ all the way to the White House.

In most states, voters registered with a political party can only vote for that party's candidates. But in some states, such as New Hampshire, voters not registered with a party are allowed to take part.

Candice Nelson is an elections expert.

"The purpose of the primary season is to enable candidates to introduce themselves to the voters, to let the voters get to know the candidates, to think about the candidates over the course of three or four months," said Nelson.

Candidates have always campaigned person-to-person in what pundits⁴ call retail⁵ politics. They go from town to town shaking hands, attending rallies, and other means of contacting the electorate⁶. And, the candidates use these contacts to try out their issue positions with voters. Iowa State University political scientist Steffen Schmidt.

“It’s like a stage, or it’s like a convention center where the candidates come and they try to sell their wares⁷," said Schmidt. "And, you know, we let them do that. The ones who sell a lot of their wares go on.”

Candidates are sellers, and voters are buyers. People who go to political events such as campaign rallies not only want a handshake, but also want their concerns addressed.

“They go to these events," said Associated Press political reporter Phil Elliott. "They pack the coffee shops. They wait for hours to meet the candidates and ask them very serious and substantive⁸ questions.”

The traditional three- or four-month period of states holding primaries and caucuses has been shrinking in recent presidential elections, as states schedule earlier and earlier in hopes of gaining greater visibility and power in determining the party's presidential nominee⁹. Some people have proposed that all states conduct their primaries or caucuses on the same day.

"The main advantage of a national primary is that the voters, the votes from individuals across the nation, would count equally toward choosing the presidential candidates," noted¹⁰ Mark Rom, a political scientist at Georgetown University. "That would be a good thing. The bad thing about a national primary is [that] it would give special advantages to those [candidates] who have raised the most money, and those who have the highest popularity when the race starts."

In primary elections and caucuses, a vote cast for a presidential candidate is actually a vote for that candidate's delegates to his or her political party's national convention, which takes place about two months before the final vote. The candidate with the greatest number of delegates overall becomes that party's presidential nominee in the November 2012 general election that leads to the White House.

1 balloting   

v.（使）投票表决( ballot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Clark took a commanding leading in the early balloting. 在最初投票时，克拉克遥遥领先。 来自辞典例句
• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句

2 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

3 reverberate   

v.使回响，使反响

参考例句：

• The decision will reverberate and will jar the country.这项决定将引起反响并震撼这个国家。
• Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my hear.痛苦呼喊的一遍遍的在我的心中回响。

4 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

5 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

6 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

7 wares   

n. 货物, 商品

参考例句：

• They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
• The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。

8 substantive   

adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体

参考例句：

• They plan to meet again in Rome very soon to begin substantive negotiations.他们计划不久在罗马再次会晤以开始实质性的谈判。
• A president needs substantive advice,but he also requires emotional succor. 一个总统需要实质性的建议，但也需要感情上的支持。

9 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。