[ti:Mail-in Voting May Delay US Presidential Election Results] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:01.80]On the night of presidential elections in the United States, [00:06.04]many Americans stay up late to find out who won. [00:10.84]The reason? [00:12.60]Most areas use electronic voting machines and computers to count-up ballots. [00:19.92]With electronic balloting, [00:23.16]election results are usually reported on election night or early the next day. [00:30.44]Because of the coronavirus pandemic, and a move to mail-in ballots, [00:36.80]it is likely that Americans will not know who won the presidency on election night. [00:43.40]If that happens, some people are worried [00:46.92]that U.S. President Donald Trump may not accept the results. [00:52.16]Some state election officials recently warned [00:56.64]that it may take days to count all the ballots that arrive in the mail. [01:01.88]They must be mailed by Election Day, Tuesday, November 3. [01:07.28]If the election is as close as it was in 2016, [01:12.68]that delay may prevent news organizations from calling a winner. [01:17.64]Jocelyn Benson is Secretary of State in Michigan [01:22.44]and a member of the state's Democratic Party. [01:26.80]She said, "It may be several days before we know the outcome of the election. [01:32.40]We have to prepare for that now and accept that reality." [01:38.28]Ohio's secretary of state, Frank LaRose, is a Republican. [01:44.40]He has urged the public to be patient. [01:48.88]"We've gotten accustomed to this idea that by the middle of the evening of election night, [01:54.68]we're going to know all the results," LaRose said. [01:59.84]He warned, "Election night reporting may take a little longer" this year. [02:06.24]A few states already hold elections largely by mail. [02:10.44]There, delayed results are common. [02:14.20]But the results of a presidential election have not been in dispute since 2000. [02:21.52]That year, problems with ballots in Florida led to weeks of chaos and legal appeals. [02:29.72]Some election observers and Democrats worry about what may happen this year, [02:35.44]as the president criticizes mail-in voting. [02:39.20]Trump is a Republican. [02:42.32]He has claimed without evidence that widespread mail balloting [02:47.00]will lead to a "rigged" election. [02:50.76]"It's very problematic," said Rick Hasen, a law professor with the University of California-Irvine. [02:58.40]"There is already so much anxiety about this election [03:02.84]because of the high levels of polarization and misinformation," he added. [03:09.28]Hasen is among the experts who have been studying how the pandemic [03:13.88]may cause problems for the U.S. electoral system. [03:18.76]He recently gathered a group of academics from both political parties [03:23.60]to suggest ways to avoid having a disputed election. [03:28.12]Some members have thought about possible events like state legislatures [03:34.00]or governors refusing to seat electors, or a candidate refusing to admit defeat. [03:41.80]Since the pandemic began, [03:44.40]many Americans have been looking for a safer alternative to in-person voting. [03:50.64]Voters requested large numbers of mail-in ballots [03:54.44]for presidential primary elections this spring. [03:58.12]The state of Maryland will hold an entirely vote-by-mail primary on June 2. [04:05.72]Election officials from both parties have supported calls for mail-in and absentee voting. [04:13.48]Many states expect to be struggling to process [04:16.56]millions more mail-in ballots than they usually do in November. [04:22.28]Each state has its own rules for accepting and counting mail-in ballots. [04:29.12]In some areas, mail-in ballots can be accepted several days after Election Day. [04:35.76]But they must be stamped with a postmark before voting stations close. [04:42.44]Some states count mail-in ballots as they come in, [04:46.24]but others — like Michigan and Pennsylvania [04:49.64]— have laws that bar processing such ballots until Election Day. [04:54.76]That means the count will extend well into the next day. [04:59.76]Another thing that could delay the count is that Democrats are pushing [05:04.12]to require states to accept mail-in ballots postmarked on Election Day. [05:11.20]Democrats have taken legal action, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court [05:16.32]required it for Wisconsin's April 7 election. [05:21.32]But, because of that requirement, [05:23.96]Wisconsin did not release results from its election until April 13. [05:30.24]Still, news organizations may try to predict a winner of the presidential election [05:35.92]before the official vote count is completed. [05:39.36]Those predictions are based on partial results, [05:43.08]earlier elections and studies of likely voters. [05:48.20]Without enough information, the broadcasters [05:51.80]may not be able to call a winner on election night. [05:55.52]I'm Jill Robbins. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM