政党如何挑选总统候选人：英语精读讲义

Primary elections are how political parties in the United States pick their strongest candidate to run for president. 短語搭配

初选是美国各政党挑选最强候选人竞选总统的方式。

The parties do this by holding mini elections 語法

各政党的具体做法是举行微型选举，

in each of the states

在每个州进行，

and the candidates with the most votes from these elections

而在这些选举中获得最多选票的候选人

becomes the partys' official nominees.

就会成为该党的正式提名人。

These nominees then face each other in the national election for president.

然后，这些提名人将在全国总统大选中展开对决。

But this isn't the whole story. 習語

但这并不是全部。

There are five things that make it a bit more complicated than that.

有五件事让情况变得更复杂一些。

Complication number one,

复杂因素一：

primaries versus caucuses.

初选（primaries）与党团会议（caucuses）。

In every state,

在每个州，

the local party leaders decide how to run their elections. 語法

地方政党领袖决定如何举行选举。

The two most common choices are primaries and caucuses.

最常见的两种选择是初选和党团会议。

Primaries are just like standard elections.

初选就像标准的选举。

Go to the polls whenever you can, 短語搭配

在你有空的时候去投票站，

stand in a long line,

排着长队，

hide in a booth,

躲进投票亭，

then tick a box or press a button,

然后勾选或按下一个按钮，

and your vote is cast in complete anonymity. 短語搭配

在完全匿名的情况下投出你的选票。

A caucus, however,

然而，党团会议

is a public vote.

则是公开投票。

People gather in groups wherever space is available,

人们在只要有空间的地方聚集成群，

then literally take sides in a room with everyone else who likes the same candidate. 習語

然后在一个房间里，和所有喜欢同一位候选人的人真正地‘站队’。

The groups debate each other,

各群体之间会互相辩论，

and if people change their minds, 短語搭配

如果有人改变主意，

they need to physically switch sides.

他们需要亲自走到另一边去。

At the end of the debates,

辩论结束时，

the party representatives count the number of people in each group.

政党代表会计算每组的人数。

If you leave too early, 語法

如果你离开得太早，

your vote doesn't count.

你的选票就不作数了。

This description of primaries and caucuses is really all you need to know,

关于初选和党团会议，知道这些描述其实就够了，

but the specifics can vary wildly. 短語搭配

但具体细节可能会有很大差异。

That's because there are 50 states,

这是因为美国有 50 个州，

all of which hold at least two primaries and caucuses for the big parties 語法

所有这些州都会为大党举行至少两次初选和党团会议，

and possibly more for the small parties.

也许还会为小党举行更多。

Covering all the local variants would take a tediously long time,

把所有地方的差异都讲一遍会花去极其漫长的时间，

which your short attention span for boring political videos wouldn't tolerate.

你对无聊政治视频那短暂的注意力肯定受不了。

And you need to stay focused because there are four more things to come.

你需要保持专注，因为接下来还有四件事。

Complication number two,

复杂因素二：

who can vote?

谁能投票？

In the national presidential election,

在全国总统大选中，

all American citizens over the age of 18 can vote with two exceptions. 短語搭配

除了两个例外情况，所有年满 18 岁的美国公民都可以投票。

You can't live here or here.

你不能住在这里，也不能住在这里。

But primaries are in-state elections with lots of different rules.

但初选是州内选举，有着各种各样的规定。

Most states and parties will only let you vote in the primary if you're an official member of the party.

大多数州和政党只允许你是该党正式党员的情况下在初选中投票。

This is called a closed primary because the voting is closed to non-party members. 用詞

这被称为封闭式初选，因为投票不对非党员开放。

But some citizens are independents and not registered with any party.

但有些公民是独立人士，没有注册任何政党。

If you're an independent and live in a state with closed party elections,

如果你是独立人士，且住在一个实行封闭式初选的州，

tough luck. 語氣意圖

算你倒霉。

No voting for you.

你不能投票。

Some states,

然而，有些州

however, have semi-closed primaries where independents can pick one and only one primary to vote in. 短語搭配

实行半封闭式初选，独立人士可以选择且只能选择一场初选去投票。

Parties allow this because the presidential election is often determined by independents,

政党之所以允许这样做，是因为总统大选往往由独立人士决定，

so knowing which candidates they like is useful.

所以了解他们喜欢哪些候选人是很有用的。

Finally, a few states and parties really play it fast and loose with open primaries. 習語

最后，有少数几个州和政党在开放式初选上玩得很随性。

Here, any citizen,

在这里，任何公民，

no matter which party they're registered with, 語法

无论注册的是哪个政党，

can pick a primary to vote in.

都可以选择一场初选来投票。

But it's not just the states that have primaries.

但举行初选的不只有各个州。

They're also held in the District of Columbia and the oft-forgotten territories.

哥伦比亚特区以及常被遗忘的海外领地也会举行初选。

Holding primaries here is a bit odd, though,

不过，在这些地方举行初选有点奇怪，

considering that territorial residents can't vote in the actual presidential election. 表達脈絡

考虑到领地居民实际上并不能在真正的总统大选中投票。

Lastly are the Americans living abroad,

最后是居住在海外的美国人，

who, depending on the party, 語法

根据政党的不同，

vote in a bloc as though they all lived together in one big extra state. 語法

他们作为一个整体投票，就好像他们全都住在一个巨大的额外州里一样。

When all these elections take place depends on complication number three,

所有这些选举何时举行，取决于复杂因素三：

who votes when?

谁在什么时候投票？

Primaries aren't conducted all at once, 語法

初选并不是一次性全部举行的，

but are spread out over a year.

而是分散在一年中进行。

This leads to fights between the states about who gets to be at the head of the line 習語

这就导致了各州之间关于谁排在队伍最前面

and who is stuck at the back.

以及谁被挤在最后的争斗。

Inevitably, last-minute leapfrogging of dates happens, 習語

不可避免地，最后一刻的日期‘插队’时有发生，

even though the parties often take away votes from these uncivil states. 短語動詞

尽管各政党经常会取消这些不守规矩的州的选票。

When it comes to being number one, 短語搭配

谈到争夺第一名，

nobody beats New Hampshire,

没有人能击败新罕布什尔州，

who wrote it into state law that their primary will always be at least a week ahead of everyone else's,

他们将‘初选必须始终比其他任何人早至少一周’写进了州法律，

which isn't a problem until some other state gets the bright idea to do the same, 習語

这本不是什么问题，直到有其他州灵机一动也想这么做，

and then we have an infinite loop in our system and have to force quit the law. 習語

然后我们的系统里就出现了一个死循环，只能强制退出该法律。

But wait, 表達脈絡

但是等一下，

you say,

你会说，

doesn't Iowa already go first?

艾奥瓦州不是已经第一个投票了吗？

Yes,

是的，

but New Hampshire lets them get away with it for two reasons. 短語動詞

但新罕布什尔州允许他们这么做，原因有两个。

First,

第一，

Iowa's election is a caucus,

艾奥瓦州的选举是党团会议，

and so New Hampshire is still technically the first primary.

所以从技术上讲，新罕布什尔州仍然是第一场初选。

And second,

第二，

New Hampshire thinks that Iowa is stupid and doesn't matter.

新罕布什尔州认为艾奥瓦州很蠢，无足轻重。

Other states try to boost their influence,

其他州试图提升自己的影响力，

not by cutting in line, 語法

不是通过插队，

but by forming an alliance and holding their primaries at the same time.

而是通过结成联盟、同时举行初选。

The biggest alliance of the election cycle is called Super Tuesday, 文化背景

选举周期中最大的联盟被称为‘超级星期二’，

where,

在这一天，

depending on how many states can agree with each other,

取决于有多少个州能达成一致，

around half of them might participate,

大约一半的州可能会参与其中，

giving out a whole pile of votes,

从而产生一大把选票，

which brings us to complication number four, 表達脈絡

这把我们带到了复杂因素四：

votes that aren't votes. 表達脈絡

不是选票的选票。

So this whole time you were probably thinking that citizens give votes straight to the candidates.

一直以来，你可能以为公民是直接把选票投给候选人的。

But no.

但并不是。

Instead,

相反，

the votes are given to a bunch of guys called delegates, 用詞

选票被交给了一群被称为‘代表’（delegates）的人，

who in turn give them to the candidates as requested. 表達脈絡

然后由他们按要求把票投给候选人。

Maybe.

也不一定。

Depending on the state,

取决于所在的州，

delegates might be required to vote as the citizens did, 語法

代表可能会被要求按照公民的意愿投票，

or they might be completely free to ignore the citizens and vote for whomever they want. 語法

或者他们可能完全可以无视公民，想投给谁就投给谁。

Who are these people?

这些人是谁？

The delegates are local party VIPs,

代表是当地政党的 VIP，

such as state reps and officials.

比如州议员和官员。

The more citizens who live in a state, 語法

一个州居住的公民越多，

the more delegates that state gets.

该州获得的代表人数就越多。

Later in the year,

在一年后的晚些时候，

when all the states have finished their primaries,

当所有州都完成了他们的初选，

the delegates travel to a huge gathering for their party called the national convention. 文化背景

代表们会前往参加他们政党的一个盛大集会，叫做全国代表大会。

It's here that the official vote to select the party's nominee for president happens. 語法

就是在这里进行正式投票，选出该党的总统提名人。

But it's not just the delegates who do the voting.

但在那里投票的不只有这些代表。

Complication number five,

复杂因素五：

superdelegates.

超级代表（superdelegates）。

Superdelegates are the top members of the party,

超级代表是政党的高级成员，

such as congressmen and former presidents.

比如国会议员和前总统。

They go to the national convention,

他们去参加全国代表大会，

not to represent the people, 語法

不是为了代表人民，

but to represent the current party establishment and can vote for whomever they want. 用詞

而是代表当前的政党建制派，并且可以想投谁就投谁。

Depending on the party,

根据政党的不同，

superdelegates might be up to 20% of the voters at the national convention.

超级代表可能占到全国代表大会投票人数的 20%。

Usually,

通常情况下，

by the time the national convention happens, 語法

到全国代表大会举行时，

all the candidates save one have dropped out of the race, 講解

所有候选人除了一个以外都已经退出了竞选，

so the convention is just a rubber stamp and a big party. 習語

所以大会只是一道走过场的程序和一场盛大的派对。

But if the fight between candidates is still ongoing,

但如果候选人之间的斗争仍在继续，

the delegates and superdelegates are the ones with the final decision.

代表和超级代表就是掌握最终决定权的人。

In summary,

总而言之，

over the course of a year, 短語搭配

在这一年的时间里，

the states plus DC plus the territories and the Americans abroad hold their primaries or caucuses.

各个州加上哥伦比亚特区，加上海外领地以及海外的美国人，都举行了初选或党团会议。

When finished,

结束后，

the delegates representing the citizens who voted in those elections travel to the national convention.

代表在这些选举中投票的公民的代表们，会前往参加全国代表大会。

Most of the delegates are forced to vote as the citizens of their state wanted them to,

大多数代表被迫按照本州公民的意愿投票，

but some of them are free to vote as they like.

但其中一些人可以自由投票。

At the national convention,

在全国代表大会上，

the delegates meet up with the superdelegates who represent the best interests of the party, 講解

代表们与代表该党最佳利益的超级代表会合，

and together they make the final decision on who will be the nominee for president.

共同做出由谁来担任总统提名人的最终决定。

Tired?

累了吗？

Don't be,

别累，

because only now does the race for the presidency begin. 語法

因为直到现在，总统竞选才真正开始。

Of course,

当然，

you could skip all that and jump straight into the election as an independent. 短語動詞

你也可以跳过所有这些，直接作为独立候选人参加大选。

The only downside to this strategy is near certain defeat. 短語搭配

这种策略唯一的缺点就是，几乎注定会失败。