美國(guó)2022年中期選舉于當(dāng)?shù)貢r(shí)間11月8日舉行。根據(jù)美國(guó)憲法，美國(guó)總統(tǒng)選舉每四年舉行一次，國(guó)會(huì)選舉每?jī)赡昱e行一次。其中一次國(guó)會(huì)選舉與四年一度的總統(tǒng)選舉同時(shí)舉行，而另一次則在總統(tǒng)任期之間舉行。在總統(tǒng)任期之間舉行的國(guó)會(huì)選舉，就是“中期選舉”，英文翻譯為mid-term election。要想看懂美國(guó)的政治選舉，你還需要了解這些詞匯。

Electoral College
選舉人團(tuán)

The United States Electoral College is a group of electors, chosen by the voters to formally elect the president.
美國(guó)選舉人團(tuán)是一群由選民選出的選舉人，美國(guó)總統(tǒng)由選舉人團(tuán)選舉產(chǎn)生。

There are 538 electors, based on the number of representatives in the House of Representatives (435) and the 100 senators in the Senate.
選舉人團(tuán)共有538名選舉人，數(shù)量根據(jù)參眾兩院議員數(shù)量而定（眾議員435名議員，參議員100名議員）。

Bicameral
兩院制

Derived from the Latin bi meaning “two” and camer meaning “chamber,” a bicameral system of government is a legislative body with two chambers.
Bi源自拉丁文表示“兩個(gè)”，camer的意思為“議院”，兩院制政治制度指由兩個(gè)議院組成的立法機(jī)構(gòu)。

In the case of the United States, this refers to the Senate and the House of Representatives.
就美國(guó)而言，兩院就是指參議院和眾議院。

Apportionment
議席分配

Derived from the Middle French apportionner meaning “to portion,” apportionment is the proportional distribution of seats in a legislative body on the basis of population.
Apportionment源自中古法語(yǔ)詞匯apportionner，意思是“按比例分配”。Apportionment是指在立法機(jī)構(gòu)中根據(jù)人口比例分配席位。

In the United States legislature, the composition of the House of Representatives is determined in this manner. Election officials get this number by comparing the population of each state to the total population of the country. Based on that proportion, they decide how many of the 435 seats in the House a given state is entitled to.
在美國(guó)立法機(jī)構(gòu)中，眾議院的組成是這樣確定的。選舉官員計(jì)算各州人口占全國(guó)總?cè)丝诘谋壤?，根?jù)這一比例，決定一個(gè)州在眾議院435個(gè)席位中占有多少席位。

Nineteenth Amendment
《美國(guó)憲法第十九修正案》

Ratified on August 18, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution granted women the right to vote.
1920年8月18日批準(zhǔn)的《美國(guó)憲法第十九修正案》賦予女性選舉權(quán)。

Suffragettes Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted the amendment in 1878, though it was not ratified for 42 years.
婦女參政論者蘇珊·B·安東尼和伊麗莎白·卡迪·斯坦頓于1878年起草了這項(xiàng)修正案，但該修正案在42年后才被批準(zhǔn)。

precinct
選區(qū)

Also referred to as a voting district, a precinct is one of a fixed number of districts, each containing one polling place, into which a city, town, etc., is divided for voting purposes.
選區(qū)也稱(chēng)投票區(qū)，為進(jìn)行投票，城市、城鎮(zhèn)劃分固定數(shù)量的選區(qū)，每個(gè)選區(qū)包含一個(gè)投票站。

Plurality
相對(duì)多數(shù)；票數(shù)差額

Known in British English as relative majority, plurality can occur when there are three or more candidates running for a single office.
Plurality在英式英語(yǔ)中表示相對(duì)多數(shù)，當(dāng)有三個(gè)或三個(gè)以上的候選人競(jìng)選一個(gè)職位時(shí)，就可能出現(xiàn)相對(duì)多數(shù)票。

The term refers to the excess amount of votes received by the leading candidate, when they collect the most votes (plurality) but not necessarily more than half the votes (absolute majority). The United States employs a simple-plurality voting system.
該術(shù)語(yǔ)是指領(lǐng)先候選人獲得最多選票（相對(duì)多數(shù)票），但不一定超過(guò)半數(shù)選票（絕對(duì)多數(shù)票）時(shí)勝出的差額。美國(guó)選舉采取簡(jiǎn)單多數(shù)票制。

electorate
全體選民

The electorate is the body of persons entitled to vote in an election. The root is derived from the Latin elector meaning “chooser,” though the term did not come into common use until the 1870s.
這個(gè)詞指有權(quán)在選舉中投票的人群。這個(gè)詞根來(lái)源于拉丁語(yǔ)elector，意思是“選擇者”，直到19世紀(jì)70年代這個(gè)詞才被廣泛使用。

constituents
選民

A constituent is someone who lives in a particular constituency, especially someone who is able to vote in an election.
選民是居住在特定選區(qū)的人，尤其指能夠在選舉中投票的人。

The term stems from the Latin constituere meaning “that which makes up or composes.” It was first used as a noun in 1714 when it came to mean “one who appoints or elects a representative.”
這個(gè)詞源于拉丁語(yǔ)constituere，意思是“組成的東西”。1714年，constituent首次被用作名詞，意指“任命或選舉代表的人”。

來(lái)源：dictionary.com
編輯：董靜