弗吉尼亚州诺福克讯 —— 司法部长托德·布兰奇周四未排除司法部可能寻求阻止各州在中期选举中认证选票的可能性，尽管他表示这并非他“不当干预选举”的意图。NBC新闻本周报道称，司法部正在权衡针对各州提起更多与选举相关的诉讼，此前它已起诉加利福尼亚州，迫使州官员审查1.8万名被怀疑可能是寻求投下欺诈选票的非公民的已登记选民。
NORFOLK, Va. — Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday left open the possibility that the Justice Department could seek to block states from certifying votes in the midterm elections, though he said it wasn’t his intention to “improperly interfere with elections.”NBC News reported this week that the Justice Department is weighing more election-related litigation against states after it sued California to compel state officials to review 18,000 registered voters it suspected could be noncitizens seeking to cast fraudulent ballots.
加利福尼亚州实行全邮寄选举，并自动寄出选票。华盛顿特区和其他七个州也是如此：科罗拉多州、夏威夷州、内华达州、俄勒冈州、犹他州、佛蒙特州和华盛顿州。邮寄投票一直是唐纳德·特朗普总统选民欺诈指控的攻击目标，这些指控在2026年中期选举前有所升级，尽管他本人在佛罗里达州使用这种投票方式投下了选票。
California has an all-mail election and sends out ballots automatically. Washington, D.C., and seven other states do, too: Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington. Mail voting has frequently been a target for President Donald Trump’s voter fraud claims, which have escalated ahead of the 2026 midterms, even as he uses the voting method to cast his ballot in Florida.
周四，布兰奇被问及能否排除司法部采取任何可能寻求延迟计票的行动。布兰奇表示，可能存在某种“末日”情形，届时司法部会寻求介入。“司法部无意，也从未有意不当干预选举、各州确认程序或认证程序，”他在登机前对记者说。布兰奇的言论正值特朗普政府更广泛的行动之中，该政府正聚焦于投票专家所说的相对罕见的非公民投票现象。
On Thursday, Blanche was asked whether he could rule out any action by the Justice Department that could seek to delay the counting of ballots. Blanche said there could be some “doomsday” scenario in which it would seek to get involved. “It is not DOJ’s intention to, and it’s never our intention to, improperly interfere with elections or the state confirmation process or certification process,” he told reporters before he boarded a plane. Blanche’s comments come in the middle of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to zero in on what voting experts say is a relatively rare phenomenon of voting by noncitizens.
法律限制了司法部在美国选举中的角色，主要允许其保障公民权利并起诉违反选举法的人员。虽然私人公民和候选人可以起诉以质疑选票或选举结果，但美国没有任何法律规定司法部可以质疑选票或延迟认证。美国选举由州和地方官员管理，他们负责认证结果。
The Justice Department’s role in U.S. elections is limited by law, chiefly allowing it to safeguard civil rights and prosecute people who violate election law. While private citizens and candidates can sue to challenge ballots or election results, no U.S. laws say the Justice Department can challenge ballots or delay certification. U.S. elections are run by state and local officials, who are charged with certifying results.
布兰奇表示，他不能说在零种情况下司法部都不会介入。“当然，我不会那样说，”他说。“但我会围绕大选安排我的日程，以便到场不予认证吗？当然不会。”布兰奇和联邦调查局局长卡什·帕特尔周四前往诺福克举行新闻发布会，宣布对一名82岁的弗吉尼亚州参议员提出敲诈勒索指控。在该新闻发布会上，当被追问司法部针对各州的诉讼时，布兰奇表示司法部“并非试图制造混乱”。
Blanche said he couldn’t say there were zero circumstances under which the Justice Department wouldn’t get involved. “Of course, I’m not going to say that,” he said. “But am I planning my days around the election to be somewhere to not certify? Of course not.”Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel traveled to Norfolk for a news conference Thursday to announce racketeering charges against an 82-year-old Virginia state senator. At that news conference, when he was pressed about the Justice Department’s litigation against states, Blanche said the Justice Department was “not trying to create chaos.”
他说，司法部是在试图提醒官员注意潜在问题。“我并非试图让大选不被认证。当然不是，”布兰奇说。“我们试图做的是向美国人民保证，只有有资格投票的人才在投票。”参议院少数党领袖查克·舒默（民主党-纽约州）对布兰奇的言论作出回应，称参议院民主党人“为此准备了几个月，将准备好应对特朗普政府尝试的任何事情”。
He said it was trying to alert officials to potential issues. “I’m not trying to not have an election certified. Of course not,” Blanche said. “What we’re trying to do is guarantee to the American people that the only people that are voting are people that are eligible to vote.”Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., reacted to Blanche’s comments, saying Senate Democrats “have been preparing for this for months and will be ready for whatever” the Trump administration tries.
“当特朗普及其亲信试图窃取这场大选时，我们正在每一个环节与他们抗争，”舒默在X上发帖称。“我们的选举必须永远属于选民——而非唐纳德·特朗普。”
“As Trump and his cronies attempt to steal this election, we are fighting them at every turn,” Schumer posted on X. “Our elections must always belong to the voters — not Donald Trump.”