周一，司法部要求华盛顿州搁置来自400多名被指控无美国公民身份却登记注册选民的选票，这距离其在加利福尼亚州提出类似要求不到两周。
on Monday asked Washington state to set aside any ballots received from more than 400 people it alleges are registered to vote without US citizenship, less than two weeks after making a similar demand in California.
这一声明是政府试图在将决定美国参众两院控制权的关键竞选州播下对选举或其结果的怀疑的最新迹象。
The announcement is the latest sign of the administration's attempts to sow doubts about the election or its outcome in states with races that will help determine control of the US Senate and House.
在致华盛顿州州务卿史蒂夫·霍布斯的信中，司法部称已查明此前选举中由400多人投出的1500张选票。它要求该州搁置这些人在下个月中期选举中可能投出的任何选票，直到州政府官员确认他们合法具备投票资格。该州拥有500多万注册选民，并向所有人发放邮寄选票。
In a letter to Washington secretary of state Steve Hobbs, the justice department said it had identified 1,500 votes cast by more than 400 people in prior elections. It asked the state to set aside any ballots they might cast in next month's midterm elections until state officials can confirm they are legally eligible to vote. The state has more than 5 million registered voters, and the state issues mail ballots to all of them.
在新闻发布会上，西雅图代理联邦检察官查尔斯·尼尔·弗洛伊德表示，他认为目前查明的405名选民仅是“冰山一角”。
At a news conference, Charles Neil Floyd, the acting US attorney in Seattle, said he believed the 405 voters identified so far represented "the tip of the iceberg".
他说：“由于该州对我们的调查设下的限制，我们只能发现总数的一小部分。”
"Because of limitations the state has placed on our investigation, we've only been able to uncover a fraction of the total number," he said.
霍布斯表示正在审查司法部的请求。他的办公室指出，司法部共享的数据包含这405人各自最近一次投票的时间。其中一人最近一次投票是在1994年。
Hobbs said he was reviewing the justice department's request. His office noted that the data shared by the department included the last time each of the 405 people voted. One was in 1994.
霍布斯说：“这一请求的时机——在大选前一周——毫无疑问是意在对选举结果施加毫无根据的怀疑。”
"The timing of this request – one week before the general election – is no doubt intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the results," Hobbs said.
弗洛伊德说，这份名单很大程度上是基于与涉嫌非公民的“近期接触”建立的，因为联邦执法人员现在例行检查他们接触的人是否已登记注册投票。
Much of the list was built based on "recent contacts" with suspected noncitizens, Floyd said, because federal officers are now routinely checking to see if the people they interact with are registered to vote.
弗洛伊德说，如果无法获取那些州政府记录，要证明某人非法投票将很困难。司法部要求提供包括地址、出生日期、驾照号码和部分社会安全号码在内的信息。
Without access to those state records, proving someone illegally voted will be difficult, Floyd said. The justice department has demanded information including addresses, dates of birth, driver's license numbers and partial social security numbers.
这是政府为识别非公民选民所做的最新努力，尽管非公民投票极为罕见。唐纳德·特朗普曾多次试图削弱公众对选举的信心。
The effort is the latest by the administration to identify noncitizen voters, even though noncitizen voting is exceptionally rare. Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to undermine public confidence in elections.
与此同时，华盛顿州官员指出，美国邮政局运营的变更已导致数千名合法选民丧失投票权。
Meanwhile, Washington officials have noted that changes in US Postal Service operations have disenfranchised thousands of legitimate voters.
司法部本月已第三次在投票进行期间直接向州政府发起挑战。这三个州——华盛顿州、加利福尼亚州和阿拉斯加州——都有众议院或参议院竞选，将有助于决定该国国会大厦的权力平衡。
The Washington request marks the third time this month that the justice department has brought a direct state challenge as voting is under way. All three states – Washington, California and Alaska – have House or Senate races that will help determine the balance of power in the country's Capitol.
华盛顿州第三国会选区的竞选是今年中期选举中竞争最激烈的选区之一。民主党指望众议员玛丽·格鲁森坎普·佩雷斯连任，这对他们夺回众议院多数席位的战略至关重要。她已两次在一个也曾在总统每次上选票时都支持总统的选区获胜。
The race for Washington's third congressional district is one of the most competitive in the country in this year's midterm elections. Democrats are counting on congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez winning reelection as crucial to their strategy of retaking the majority in the House. She has won twice in a district that also has supported the president each time he's been on the ballot.
司法部起诉加利福尼亚州，作为类似尝试的一部分，要求该州搁置多达2万名联邦政府怀疑可能非公民人士的邮寄选票。上周在阿拉斯加州提起的另一项诉讼旨在推迟认证选举结果，如果共和党现任议员未获胜的话。
The justice department sued California as part of a similar attempt to require the state to set aside mail ballots from up to 20,000 people the federal government suspects may not be citizens. Another lawsuit filed in Alaska last week seeks to delay certification of the vote if the Republican incumbent doesn't win.
在加利福尼亚州，联邦上诉法院一个合议庭周日举行罕见听证并质疑司法部要求的时机、合宪性和权限。周一，他们拒绝就司法部要求的加快时间表作出裁决，并将案件发回下级法院。
In California, a panel of federal appellate judges heard rare Sunday arguments and questioned the timing, constitutionality and authority of the Department of Justice's demand. On Monday, they declined to rule on the expedited timeline the justice department requested and sent it back to a lower court.
美国宪法的选举条款赋予州立法机构设定国会选举时间、地点和方式的权力。
The elections clause of the US constitution gives state legislatures the power to set the time, place and manner of congressional elections.
洛杉矶县助理登记官莫妮卡·弗洛雷斯在一份法庭文件中表示，她的工作人员从特朗普政府的名单中抽取了200份记录进行抽样审查。他们发现，该样本包含已注销或处于非活跃状态的登记、无投票记录的人员，以及据推测出生于美国的选民。
Los Angeles county assistant registrar-recorder Monica Flores said in a court filing that her staff went through a sample of 200 records from the Trump administration's list. They found the sample included canceled or inactive registrations, people with no voting history and voters who appeared to have been born in the United States.
加利福尼亚州官员周一宣称，上诉法院的裁决是投票权的一场胜利。该州检察长罗布·邦塔誓言要“在每一个环节反击政府的非法越权行为”。加利福尼亚州州长加文·纽森则指责特朗普对民主发动了攻击。
California state officials touted the appeals court's decision on Monday as a victory for voting rights. The state's attorney general Rob Bonta vowed to "fight back against the administration's unlawful overreach at every turn". California governor Gavin Newsom meanwhile accused Trump of an assault on democracy.
司法部告知华盛顿州，预计将在选举日前向该州发送一份额外名单，列出其怀疑不具备公民身份的人员。司法部还指出，其怀疑系无公民身份注册的部分人员，此后可能已入籍成为公民。尼克·罗宾斯-厄利参与了报道。
The justice department told Washington it anticipates sending the state an additional list of people it suspects are not citizens prior to election day. It also noted that some of the people it suspects registered without citizenship may have since become naturalized. Nick Robins-Early contributed reporting.