美国司法部周四向多个州的选举官员发出信函，威胁如果他们未能保存选举记录将面临潜在起诉，在中期选举前几天对选举官员采取了异常强硬的姿态。
The Department of Justice on Thursday sent letters to elections officials in multiple states threatening potential prosecution if they fail to preserve election records, an unusually aggressive posture toward election officials in the days before the midterms.
这些看似完全相同的信函由代理副司法部长特伦特·麦科特签署，威胁未能遵守记录保存法律的选举官员将面临“最高一年监禁和1000美元罚款”。
The seemingly identical letters, which were signed by acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, threatened “up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine” for election officials who failed to uphold record-keeping laws.
他在信中写道：“为保护选举权并维护公众对我们民主进程的信心，国会要求选举官员保留选举记录。我写信是为了提醒你们履行这一义务。”目前不清楚有多少州收到了这封信。但周五，科罗拉多州、佛罗里达州、佐治亚州、马里兰州、明尼苏达州、密歇根州、新罕布什尔州、新墨西哥州、纽约州、俄克拉荷马州、华盛顿州和威斯康星州的选举官员均向《政治报》证实收到副本，或已公开发布该信函。
“To protect the franchise and maintain public confidence in our democratic process, Congress requires election officials to retain election records,” he wrote in the letters. “I am writing to remind you of that obligation.”It is not clear how many states received the letter. But on Friday, election officials in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Washington and Wisconsin either confirmed to POLITICO they received a copy or posted it publicly.
收到信函的选举官员强调，他们早已知晓记录保存法律并正在遵守。
Election officials who received the letter stressed they were already aware of record-keeping laws and were following them.
佛罗里达州州务卿、共和党人科德·伯德表示：“我们已经遵守信中所述要求。”
“We already comply with what the letter states,” said Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd, a Republican.
华盛顿州民主党籍州务卿史蒂夫·霍布斯的发言人斯蒂芬妮·兰道夫表示：“我们已经并将继续根据州和联邦法律保留选举记录。”
“We have and will continue to retain election records in accordance with state and federal laws,” said Stefanie Randolph, a spokesperson for Washington’s Democratic Secretary of State Steve Hobbs.
司法部未立即回应关于有多少州收到信函的置评请求。VoteBeat率先报道了司法部最新一轮威胁性信函。
The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for information on how many states were in receipt of the letters. VoteBeat first reported on the latest round of threatening DOJ letters.
这是该机构在特朗普政府推动更大规模运动、试图规定各州如何管理选举之际，向州选举官员施压的最新举措。
It’s the agency’s latest effort to pressure state election officials amid a larger campaign by the Trump administration to dictate how states run their elections.
本月早些时候，麦科特向加利福尼亚州选举官员发出信函，给予该州48小时时间审查选民名册，针对司法部认为可能已登记投票的所谓无证人员。
Earlier this month, McCotter sent California election officials a letter giving the state 48 hours to review its voter rolls for alleged undocumented individuals the DOJ believed could be registered to vote.
随后，司因加州拒绝配合其要求而起诉该州，一名联邦法官本周早些时候驳回了特朗普政府要求该州将这些选票隔离的诉求。
The DOJ then sued California when the state refused to comply with its request, and a federal judge earlier this week denied the Trump administration’s demands that the state segregate those ballots.