在一个红州中的蓝县——这里可能自上世纪90年代初以来首次转为蓝色——阿比·卡明已准备数月，以确保每一票都被计入。
In a blue county in a red state — that could go blue for the first time since the early 90’s — Abbie Kamin has been preparing for months to make sure every vote counts.
卡明对MS NOW表示：“从第一天起，首要任务就是确保哈里斯县每一位合格选民的权益受到保护，确保他们拥有投票权。”
“From day one, the number one priority was ensuring that every eligible voter in Harris County that their rights are protected and that they have the right to vote,” Kamin told MS NOW.
作为得克萨斯州哈里斯县的县检察官，卡明负责监督该州人口最多县的潜在选举干预的法律应对工作，当地提前投票人数已创下纪录。她和近二十名律师组成的团队——其中包括她最近从司法部招募的一些人——正在积极准备，以便在选举相关的法律问题一出现时迅速作出回应。
As the Harris County Attorney in Texas, Kamin is overseeing the legal response to any potential election interference for the state’s most populous county where record-breaking early voting is already underway. She and her team of nearly two dozen lawyers, including some she has recently recruited from the Department of Justice, are actively preparing to quickly respond to legal issues surrounding the election as soon as they may arise.
“所有能起草的文件我们都已经起草好了，”卡明说。“我们为每一种不同情况都指派了律师，谁负责什么——同时也要确保快速响应。”她拒绝透露团队正在关注的具体情况，但暗示过去可能成为先例。
“We have everything that you can have drafted,” Kamin said. “We have attorneys assigned for every different scenario, who’s handling what — but also to ensure rapid response.”While she declined to indicate the specific scenarios her team is watching, she signaled that the past might be a precedent.
“我们在关注其他州，”卡明说。“我们利用以往选举中积累的经验来做准备。”卡明指出，联邦政府曾试图干预选票，包括今年早些时候在佐治亚州富尔顿县搜查并扣押2020年选举的选票，以及司法部最近提起诉讼，要求将加利福尼亚州2万名被指为非公民的登记选民选票单独分离出来。
“We’re watching other states,” Kamin said. “We have our own experience from past elections that we are using to prepare.”Kamin pointed to the federal government’s attempts to interfere with ballots, including the search and seizure of ballots from the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia, earlier this year, as well as the Justice Department’s recent lawsuit to segregate the ballots of 20,000 alleged non-citizens in California who are registered to vote.
她还提到有人试图拒绝认证2020年选举结果，以及特朗普总统就其选举意图发表的公开言论，包括呼吁向投票站派遣联邦执法人员。
She also noted the attempts and refusals to certify the 2020 election results, as well as President Trump’s public comments about his intentions around the elections, including a call to send federal law enforcement agents to the polls.
在得克萨斯州另一个民主党占绝对优势的县特拉维斯县，县检察官迪莉娅·加尔萨告诉MS NOW，她的办公室已聘请选举法专家作为外部顾问协助其团队，并且已经获得适当授权，以便在需要时提起诉讼保护投票。“在这次重要选举中，我们已与地方辖区的同行进行了磋商，并采取了额外预防措施，以规划和预判可能影响选民受保护的投票权的各种情形，”加尔萨说。
In Travis County, another heavily Democratic county in Texas, County Attorney Delia Garza told MS NOW her office has hired election law experts as outside counsel to assist her team and has already obtained proper authorization to file litigation to protect the vote should the need arise“In this important election, we have consulted with our counterparts in local jurisdictions and taken extra precautions to plan and anticipate scenarios that may impact a voter’s protected right to cast their ballot,” Garza said.
一个关键摇摆州的一位县检察官——因涉及敏感的诉讼规划而要求匿名——告诉MS NOW，其办公室正在夜以继日地为周二——以及之后——做准备。
A county attorney in a key battleground state — who wished to remain anonymous in order to speak about sensitive litigation planning — told MS NOW that their office is working around the clock to get ready for Tuesday — and beyond.
“每个案件都将基于具体事实，但我们确实已经起草好诉状，一切准备就绪，”这位县检察官说。“我们有一个律师团队，旨在保护选举的公正性并防止干预，正如我们在其他州看到这些企图上演的那样。”此类准备工作也在全州层面进行。
“Every case will be fact-specific, but we do have pleadings drafted, everything ready,” that county attorney said. “We have a team of attorneys with the intent to protect the integrity of the elections and prevent interference, as we have seen these attempts play out in other states.”These types of preparations are underway at the statewide level, too.
一位州总检察长的发言人告诉MS NOW，他们有一个“文书库”，备好了各类动议：要求归还被扣押的选票或设备，在移民和海关执法局人员出现在投票站时予以阻止，以及防止司法部的选举监督员在以下情况下偏离法律：与选民交谈、携带武器进入投票地点，或以任何方式干预投票或计票。
A spokesperson for one state attorney general told MS NOW they have a “brief bank” with motions ready: for the return of ballots or equipment seized, to stop ICE if they show up at polling sites, and to prevent DOJ’s election monitors from deviating from the law should they talk to voters, carry weapons into a polling location, or interfere in any way with the casting or tabulation of votes.
各州州务卿也在进行类似的沟通。一位熟悉多位民主党州务卿筹备情况的消息人士获准匿名讨论这些敏感计划，该人士告诉MS NOW，这些办公室也“准备好了备案文件”，计划“包括随时准备并愿意提起诉讼”。他们最优先的事项是确保选民能够投票，并确保这些选票被计入。他们正准备迅速应对各种挑战，以便将对投票过程的干扰降到最低。
Secretaries of state are having similar conversations. A source familiar with the planning of several Democratic secretaries of state, who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive plans, told MS NOW those offices also have “draft filings ready to go” and that the plans “include being ready and willing to sue.”Their biggest priority is ensuring voters get to vote — and that those votes are counted. They are preparing to respond to challenges quickly so there is minimal disruption to the voting process.
“时间绝对至关重要，”该人士说。“州务卿和总检察长已经竭尽全力为这一刻做准备，确保一旦发生状况，他们能尽快作出反应。”几家律师事务所和法律组织也准备在必要时介入。
“Time is absolutely of the essence,” the person said. “Secretaries of state and attorneys general have done everything in their power in preparation for this moment to ensure that if something happens, they can react as quickly as possible.”Several law firms and legal organizations are also preparing to intervene if necessary.
伊莱亚斯法律集团专门从事选举诉讼的律师利斯·弗罗斯特对法律挑战有着亲身经历。她曾在2020年大选后诉讼期间担任前总统乔·拜登的律师，并对特朗普及其盟友提起了60多起诉讼。
Lis Frost, a lawyer with Elias Law Group who specializes in election litigation, knows firsthand about the legal challenges. She served as former President Joe Biden’s counsel during the post-election litigation in 2020 and filed more than 60 lawsuits against Trump and his allies.
弗罗斯特拒绝谈论她目前参与的具体法律工作，但告诉MS NOW，她的团队拥有“惊人的知识储备”以及针对具体情景出现时的“作战计划”。
Frost declined to speak about specific legal work she’s involved with currently, but told MS NOW her team has “an incredible bank of knowledge” and “battle plans” for specific scenarios as they emerge.
她说，她的团队准备在数小时内对甚至她那些资深诉讼律师也从未见过的情况作出反应，并将自己的工作比作厨师的工作。
She said her team is prepared to respond within a matter of hours to circumstances even her team of veteran litigators has never seen before, likening her job to that of a chef.
“你必须准备好为走进门来的食客准备晚餐，”她说。“如果你不这样做，如果你只是说，‘不，我要供应我习惯供应的东西’……你就会错失目标。”
“You have to be ready to put together the dinner for the diner that comes in the door,” she said. “If you don’t, if you are just like, ‘no, I’m going to serve the thing I serve’ … you’re going to miss the mark.”
“在这个时刻，要应对这个历史性时刻，真正关键的一点是，要对所有可能摆上餐桌的事物有深刻的了解，但又要灵活，能够妥善安排它们，并为当下的局势量身定制合适的应对方案，”弗罗斯特说，“而且，坦率地说，要在极其紧迫的时间表内完成，并且做对。”一家全国性法律组织的另一位律师，因获准匿名讨论敏感诉讼事项，对MS NOW表示，他们已经准备了数月，以应对联邦干预选举并可能需要紧急诉讼的可能性。
“One of the things that’s actually crucial in this moment to be able to meet this historical moment is to have a real deep understanding of all the things that could go on the table, but be nimble and able to arrange them properly and to put together the right bespoke response for the moment as it arises,” Frost said, “and to be able to do that, frankly, on a breakneck schedule and get it right.”Another lawyer at a national legal organization, who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive litigation matters, told MS NOW they have been preparing for the possibility of federal interference in the election that would require emergency litigation for months.
该人士表示，他们已起草并准备好各种法律诉状和简报，以应对诸如武装ICE或FBI特工出现在投票站——甚至应对试图扣押选票、投票机或其他选举设备的企图，以及联邦政府可能利用“选举舞弊的虚假指控”来为这些扣押辩护的可能性。
The person said they have a variety of legal pleadings and briefs drafted and ready to address issues such as the presence of armed ICE or FBI agents at the polls — or even to respond to attempts to seize ballots, voting machines or other election equipment, and for the possibility that the federal government could use “spurious claims of election fraud” to justify these seizures.
全国性政党组织正准备介入这些法律斗争，其中一些已经介入。一批民主党组织和领导人上周提起诉讼，指控特朗普政府一直在系统性地试图削弱公众对选举的信心，声称有权规定各州如何管理选举，并通过对州和地方选举官员的持续威胁和恐吓来加强其干预努力。
National political party organizations are preparing to enter these legal battles, and some already have. A group of Democratic party organizations and leaders filed a lawsuit last week, alleging the Trump administration has been systematically seeking to erode confidence in the elections by asserting the right to dictate how states can administer their elections and bolstering their interference efforts through persistent threats and intimidation toward state and local election officials.
他们已请求一名联邦法官阻止特朗普政府指示各州将已登记选民从选民名册中移除、扣留选票，或对选票进行隔离或拒绝计票。他们还请求法官阻止特朗普政府威胁州和地方选举官员。法官尚未就其主张作出裁决。
They have asked a federal judge to block the Trump administration from directing states to remove registered voters from their rolls, withhold ballots, or segregate or refuse to count ballots. They are also asking the judge to block the Trump administration from threatening state and local election officials The judge has not yet ruled on their claims.
民主党全国委员会并非该诉讼的当事方，但也在准备应对可能出现的任何问题。在某些情况下，他们已提前提起诉讼，包括对可能部署联邦探员的挑战，以便在情况出现时迅速提交紧急动议。
The Democratic National Committee, which was not a party to that lawsuit, is also preparing to respond to any issues that arise. In some situations, they have already filed the suits, including a challenge to possible federal agent deployments, so they can quickly file emergency motions to situations as they arise.
民主党全国委员会诉讼主任丹·弗里曼对MS NOW表示，他们还在为各种情况起草模板诉讼，预计本周内完成定稿。
Dan Freeman, Litigation Director for the DNC, told MS NOW that they are also drafting template lawsuits for a variety of situations and expects to have them finalized by the end of this week.
弗里曼说：“制作模板诉状——也可以说是‘疯狂填词’式诉状——是标准做法，我们将为下周可能出现的各种突发情况做好准备。”
“It is standard practice to develop template pleadings — ‘Mad Libs’ pleadings, if you will — and we will be prepared for the full range of contingencies that could arise next week,” Freeman said.
为潜在的选举诉讼做准备并非党派问题。共和党全国委员会已设立一个强有力的“选举诚信”项目，以应对选举日当天及前后可能出现的问题。
Preparation for potential election litigation is not a partisan issue. The Republican National Committee has established a robust “election integrity” program to respond to potential issues on and around Election Day.
虽然共和党全国委员会（RNC）不愿透露是否已起草诉讼文书，但该委员会选举诚信传播主任艾莉·特里奥洛（Ally Triolo）告诉“MS NOW”，他们的目标始终如一：“确保各州制定的规则得到统一执行。”
While the RNC would not address whether they have litigation already drafted, Ally Triolo, the RNC’s Election Integrity Communications Director, told MS NOW their goals are consistent: “ensuring the rules enacted by each state are followed uniformly.”
特里奥洛表示，任何法律回应都将取决于事实和适用的州法律，但潜在的争议领域可能涉及观察员准入、投票时间、拉票活动、选票计数，以及对选民身份识别要求和邮寄选票规定的遵守情况。
Triolo says any legal response would depend on the facts and applicable state law, but potential issue areas could involve observer access, polling hours, electioneering, ballot counting, and compliance with requirements governing voter identification and mail ballots.”
特里奥洛说：“共和党全国委员会拥有律师、选举诚信工作人员和受过培训的志愿者，正在监测事态发展，并准备针对出现的具体问题做出回应。”“任何行动都将基于事实、适用的州法律和可用的法律救济途径。”司法部未立即回应“MS NOW”关于这些为潜在选举相关诉讼所做准备的置评请求。回到哈里斯县，卡明担心“遵守法律”这一概念可能变得主观。
“The RNC has attorneys, election-integrity staff, and trained volunteers monitoring developments, and preparing to respond to specific issues as they arise,” Triolo said. “Any action would be based on the facts, the applicable state law, and the available legal remedies.”The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment on these preparations for potential election-related litigation. Back in Harris County, Kamin is concerned the concept of following the law could become subjective.
美国得克萨斯州南区联邦检察官阿伦·赖茨（Aaron Reitz）本月早些时候发布视频，向选举官员发出警告：“如果你们违法，我将追捕你们并提起诉讼。”该管辖区包含哈里斯县。这一表态促使卡明——她坚称自己的团队“严格遵守法律”——为其选举工作聘请另一类律师：刑法专家。尽管如此，她坚称不会因此在工作上退缩。
Aaron Reitz, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, which includes Harris County, posted a video earlier this month, warning election officials, “If you violate the law, I will hunt you down and prosecute you.”That announcement prompted Kamin, who insists her team is “following the law to a T,” to hire another type of lawyer to support her election work: one who is an expert in criminal law. Still, she insists she won’t be deterred in her work.
卡明说：“我们的民主神圣不可侵犯，我们将继续严格遵守州法律和联邦法律，并将捍卫这些法律。”
“Our democracy is sacred, and we are going to continue to follow the laws of our state and our country rigorously,” Kamin said. “And we are going to defend those laws.”