VOA标准英语2013--Obama Calls For US Election Reforms

 

Obama Calls For US Election Reforms

As President Obama celebrated¹ his re-election last November, he acknowledged that too many people waited too long to cast their ballots².

In his State of the Union address in February, the president said long waits at the polls are a betrayal of America's ideals.

He told the story of 102-year-old Desiline Victor of Miami, Florida. "When Desiline arrived at her polling place, she was told the wait to vote might be six hours. And as time ticked by, her concern was not with her tired body or aching feet, but whether folks like her would get to have their say," he said.

Obama announced a new commission to study the electoral process, led by the top attorneys from his 2012 campaign and that of Republican challenger Mitt³ Romney.

While the commission looks for answers, others are debating exactly what is wrong with American elections.

At Washington's Heritage Foundation, senior legal fellow Hans von Spakovsky says Obama exaggerated the problem. "And the myth is that everyone had to wait in long lines to vote on Election Day last November. We know that is not true. MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) did a study on this, and the average wait time across the country was only 14 minutes," he said.

But the world's oldest democracy can do better, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts' David Becker, who helps states improve their election procedures. He says lines are too long, and an antiquated⁴ voter registration⁵ system is to blame. "Because inaccurate⁶, out-of-date voter records are one of the primary causes of problems, all the way through Election Day -- polling place problems, lines, provisional ballots and other things that can cause delays and cost extra money," he said.

Becker wants greater automation of the process, with more states allowing voters to register by Internet.

Von Spakovsky says many states are already making reforms, checking with each other to see whether a voter has moved or is registered in more than one state.

And he says the president's commission duplicates the work of an existing government board, whose seats Obama has not filled. "There is already a federal agency - it is called the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, that was started by Congress in 2002 - whose very job is to make best-practices recommendations to the states," he said.

But David Becker is hopeful that Obama's commission will make a difference. "When people at the state level, at the national level, decide that this is important, that our American democracy is a beacon⁷ to the rest of the world, and it is incumbent⁸ upon us to fix it and improve it in our own country, that is a positive thing, and I think the president's commission will be a contribution to that effort," he said.

If so, Desiline Victor and other voters will find their basic American right much easier to exercise in future elections. 

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 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》

3 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

4 antiquated   

adj.陈旧的，过时的

参考例句：

• Many factories are so antiquated they are not worth saving.很多工厂过于陈旧落后，已不值得挽救。
• A train of antiquated coaches was waiting for us at the siding.一列陈旧的火车在侧线上等着我们。

5 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？

6 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。

7 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

8 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。