导读:美国大选投票率低，一直都是美国政治的弊病。繁冗的投票程序，工作日投票等问题，让很多美国人弃选。
With two of the most unpopular presidential candidates in history, some pundits are concerned there could be a record low in voter numbers.
一些专家担心，由于此次大选的两位候选人是史上最不受待见的，选民人数可能创下历史新低。
Turnout has been on a historic downward trend in recent years - with the exception of President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, said David Becker, the executive director of the Center for the Election Innovation and Research.
选举创新与研究中心执行主任大卫·贝克尔说，除了奥巴马总统2008年的竞选活动外，近年大选投票率一直处于历史性下降趋势。
Participation has hovered between 48% and 57% in US presidential elections since 1980. That contrasts with France, where turnout regularly tops 80%.
自1980年以来，美国总统大选投票率一直盘旋在48%到57%。这恰恰和法国相反，法国的投票率通常高于80%。
Among OECD countries, the US ranked 31 of 34 for percentage of voting-age population.
在经合组织国家中，美国投票年龄人口投票率在34个国家中排第31位。
Americans face a number of hurdles beginning with registration. The US is one of the only countries that requires voters to register separately, rather than automatically signing them up, a step many Americans never take.
美国人从投票注册开始就面临着许多障碍。 美国是唯一需要选民单独注册，而不是自动注册的国家之一，很多美国人从不单独注册。
"The burden has always been on the voter to find out how to register and get themselves registered," Mr Becker said.
贝克尔说：“选民肩上一直有搞清楚如何登记和被登记的负担。”
But some US states have taken efforts to make this process easier by implementing "same-day registration" or allowing people to register to vote while getting a driver’s licence.
但是美国的一些州已经努力通过实施“同天注册”或允许人们在获得驾驶执照时投票，使此过程更容易。
Other states have passed more stringent voter ID laws, which some critics say make it more difficult for minorities to cast a ballot.
其他州通过了更为严格的选民身份法，一些批评者说，这使得少数民族更难以投票。
More recently, Pew Charitable Trusts worked with several states to form the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), to help update voter registration rolls.
最近，皮尤慈善信托基金与几个州合作创建了电子注册信息中心（ERIC），帮助更新选民登记卷。
Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia now work with ERIC, which Mr Becker helped create, and somewhere between 10 and 20 million people will have been contacted to register by this fall.
如今，美国21个州和哥伦比亚特区与贝克尔帮助创建的电子注册信息中心合作，今年秋天，将有一千万到两千万人被联系注册。
And though Democratic political data firm TargetSmart found that 200 million Americans are now registered to vote for the first time in US history, that may not translate to turnout.
虽然民主政治数据公司TargetSmart发现，现在，2亿美国人已经首次在美国历史上登记投票，但这可能不会转化为投票率。
Some critics also point to holding elections on Tuesdays, when much of America is at work, as part of the challenge.
但是一些评论家也指出，周二举行选举时，大部分的美国人都在工作，这也是一种挑战。
To resolve scheduling conflicts, some states offer absentee ballots, or voting by mail, as well as early voting, but in places like Australia, where voting is mandatory, the election is held on a Saturday.
为了解决时间上的冲突，一些州提供缺席投票，通过电子邮件投票或者早投票。但在将选举投票作为义务的澳大利亚这种地方，选举都在周六举行。
The historical lack of enthusiasm for voting in the US has been heightened in this year’s bitter presidential election - which has seen gruelling months of mudslinging and a rise in hateful invective - leaving some voters no other option than to tune it out.
在今年充满恨意的总统选举中，美国人对投票热情的缺乏又上了历史性新台阶。接发隐私的几个月使人筋疲力尽，充满恨意的谩骂越来越多，这让一些选民别无选择，只能弃选。
Courtney Otto, a 29-year-old resident who lives in Romeoville, Illinois, said she plans to abstain from voting on 8 November for that very reason.
29岁的Courtney Otto，是一名居住在伊利诺伊州罗密欧维尔的居民，她说，因为以上原因，她计划放弃11月8日的投票权。
"I’m not informed. I feel like both candidates are more so telling me what the other candidate has done wrong," she told the BBC.
她告诉BBC：“我不知道，我觉得两名候选人，在很大程度上都在告诉我另一个人做错了什么。”
"I don’t want to know what the other person’s not going to do. I want to know what you are going to do."
“我不想知道别人不打算做什么，我想知道你将要做什么。”
She is not alone. Brian Meyer, a 32-year-old resident in southeast Wisconsin, has also decided to not to vote in the presidential election for the first time since he was 18.
拥有她这种想法的人，不止一个。32岁的Brian Meyer是威斯康辛西南部的居民，也决定放弃总统选举投票。自他8岁以来，这是他第一次弃选。
An electronic voting card and vote stickers are seen at a polling place on 6 November 2012 in Sparks, Nevada.
2012年11月6日，在内华达州斯帕克斯的投票所里，可以看见电子投票卡和投票贴纸。
But even this year’s primaries only saw about 30% of eligible voters at the polls, which means seven out of 10 people did not show up, Mr Becker noted.
贝克尔强调道，即便是今年的初选，也只有约30%的合格投票者出现在了投票所内，这意味着，十个人里有七个都没出现。
Compare US turnout rates with Australia, where mandatory voting has increased average turnout to 91% from 67%. Failing to vote in Australia is punishable with a fine of A$20.
将美国的投票率和澳大利亚的投票率做一比较，在澳大利亚，投票是强制性的，这使得该国的投票率从67%上升到了91%。在澳大利亚，不投票会被罚款20澳币。
Compulsory systems consistently rank among the world’s highest voter participation.President Barack Obama once said of compulsory voting: "If everybody voted, then it would completely change the political map in this country."
强制投票系统一直高居世界投票率榜上。奥巴马总统曾经谈到过强制投票：“如果每个人都投票，将彻底改变美国的政治格局。”
Simon Jackman, a professor and chief executive of the United States Centre at the University of Sydney, said the process has even become part of the Australian identity.
悉尼大学美国中心教授兼首席执行官Simon Jackman说，选举程序已经成为了澳大利亚人身份的一部分。
