[ti:Support Grows for Voting by Mail During Health Crisis] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The United States is to hold a presidential election in November of 2020. [00:08.80]The coronavirus crisis, however, has caused concern [00:13.52]among some Americans about the safety of public voting stations. [00:20.36]As a result, the interest in voting by mail has increased around the nation. [00:27.76]The process would permit citizens to send their ballot [00:32.00]through the U.S. postal service to election officials in their states. [00:38.84]President Donald Trump is opposed to the process. [00:43.00]And Republican Party officials in some states are supporting his objection. [00:50.48]A new survey finds that 47 percent of Democratic Party members [00:56.76]and 27 percent of Republicans support voting by mail. [01:03.12]The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research did the survey. [01:11.04]It found that 39 percent of Americans overall support voting by mail in November. [01:19.72]In 2018, under 20 percent supported the process. [01:25.80]The survey found that 40 percent of Americans are against voting by mail. [01:32.60]However, 48 percent of those questioned also said they would support the process [01:40.28]if the coronavirus were spreading come November. [01:45.72]The survey also found a divide on support for no-excuse absentee voting. [01:52.88]This system permits registered voters to vote by mail without providing a reason for doing so. [02:02.36]The no-excuse absentee system is already in place in most states. [02:10.56]President Trump and other Republicans argue that voting by mail will lead to election corruption. [02:19.32]In a recent Twitter post Trump wrote "Republicans should fight very hard [02:25.56]when it comes to statewide mail-in voting." [02:30.00]He said possible dishonesty in the process was too risky. [02:36.68]All states do elections differently. [02:39.56]Only five states automatically mail ballots to every voter. [02:45.16]But in answer to the coronavirus, some states have changed the political party [02:51.72]presidential nominating elections to the mail-only process. [02:58.20]The Republican National Committee has been fighting some of those moves. [03:04.00]A New Mexico court recently decided in favor of Republicans who sought [03:10.40]to block the state from holding its June primary by mail only. [03:17.16]It forced the state to open some voting stations. [03:22.56]The ruling also forces citizens to request permission to vote by mail. [03:30.52]But, in Texas the Democratic Party won a court case about voting processes. [03:39.08]A judge ruled that the state government must permit voters to vote by mail [03:45.32]if they fear getting COVID-19 at voting stations. [03:51.64]In Wisconsin, the Republican-controlled legislature defeated a request [03:58.44]to hold that state's April 7 primary and state court election by mail. [04:07.32]Such battles are expected to continue, especially if the virus is growing in the fall. [04:16.12]Brynn Alexander is a 36-year-old who just moved into military housing in Alabama. [04:24.80]She worries about security in the vote by mail process. [04:30.64]"How do you even identify that the mail got to the right person?" Alexander asked, [04:36.68]adding that in-person voting would make the public more accepting of the results. [04:44.40]"You don't want one party or the other saying the other side cheated." she said. [04:51.48]But Alexander said she supports exceptions to permit some people [04:55.48]to mail in ballots, like her 70-year-old mother. [05:02.92]Rick Reinesch is a 59-year-old computer technician in Austin, Texas. [05:10.92]He said Republicans needlessly push worries about voter fraud. [05:18.16]Paul Miller of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, is an 81-year-old Republican retiree. [05:26.44]He said he is not sure he trusts voting by mail. [05:31.32]He usually goes to a voting station on Election Day. [05:36.72]But Miller might send his ballot this year in the face of the viral threat. [05:43.28]"I could be persuaded," he said. [05:46.36]I'm Alice Bryant. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM