在中期选举前夕，特朗普总统在推动调查所谓选举舞弊的过程中四面楚歌，但在佐治亚州，他迎来了一个契机。
On the eve of midterms, President Trump is facing setbacks left and right in his push to investigate alleged election fraud But in Georgia, he has an opening.
为何重要：六年前，佐治亚州曾是特朗普试图推翻2020年总统大选结果的核心战场。如今，该州自家的选举委员会邀请其政府调查该州的投票系统。
Why it matters: Six years ago, Georgia was at the epicenter of Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Now the state's own election board has invited his administration to investigate its voting system.
- 佐治亚州有两场高风险的全州性竞选：参议员乔恩·奥索夫（民主党）对阵众议员迈克·柯林斯（共和党）角逐参议员席位，前亚特兰大市长凯莎·兰斯·博特姆斯（民主党）对阵商人里克·杰克逊（共和党）角逐州长职位。
• Georgia features two high-stakes statewide campaigns: Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) against Rep. Mike Collins (R) for Senate, and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) against businessman Rick Jackson (R) for governor. The big picture:
大局：司法部周五在法庭上披露，政府已向加利福尼亚州、华盛顿州、宾夕法尼亚州、新泽西州和内华达州的官员发送信函，要求部分州将涉嫌非公民选民的邮寄选票分离出来。
The Justice Department disclosed in court on Friday that the administration has sent letters to officials in California, Washington, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Nevada, asking some states to segregate mail-in ballots from suspected noncitizen voters.
- 一名联邦法官周五发布紧急命令，禁止联邦官员威胁要对计算司法部声称不合资格选民选票的选举官员提起指控。
• A federal judge on Friday issued an emergency order that blocks federal officials from threatening to charge election officials who count ballots from voters the DOJ claims are ineligible.
- 10月，一名联邦法官限制了国土安全部对涉嫌非公民选民的调查。
• In October, a federal judge restricted the Department of Homeland Security's investigations into suspected noncitizen voters.
但佐治亚州情况不同“我们靠胶带和泡泡糖勉强撑过了最后一轮，但这不是管理选举的方式，”一名佐治亚州选举官员告诉Axios。
But Georgia is different "We've managed with duct tape and bubble gum to be able to bootstrap our way through one last round, but that's not a way of running elections," a Georgia election official told Axios.
- 佐治亚州选举委员会请求司法部和国土安全部审查并可能调查该州的投票系统及选举数据处理情况。
• Georgia's State Election Board asked the Justice and Homeland Security departments to review and potentially investigate the state's voting system and handling of election data.
- 9月30日的信函援引了过时的软件、对选票保密性的威胁，以及可能违反《帮助美国投票法案》的二维码选票。
• The Sept. 30 letter cited outdated software, threats to ballot secrecy and QR-code ballots it says may violate the Help America Vote Act.
- 司法部发言人针对该信函回应称：“我们严肃对待选举官员未能妥善维护选举设备、以及未能以其他方式遵守联邦法律的指控。我们正在评估该请求，并将展开调查，如属适当，将依据联邦法采取执法行动。”
• A DOJ spokesperson said in response to the letter: "We take seriously allegations that election officials have failed to adequately maintain election equipment and otherwise comply with federal law. We are evaluating the request and will investigate and, if appropriate, bring an enforcement action consistent with federal law."
另一方观点：佐治亚州选举委员会主席约翰·费夫里耶由州长布赖恩·坎普（共和党）任命，他反对该信函，并告诉《Axios》网站，委员会多数成员现在认为，该信函“远远超出了决议的范围。”
The other side: Georgia State Election Board Chair John Fevrier appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp (R), opposed the letter and told Axios that a majority of the board now believes it "far exceeded what was in the resolution."
- 佐治亚州州务卿办公室高级传播总监米琼·林德斯特伦表示：“遗憾的是，州选举委员会试图在大选最后关头制造混乱。”
• Michon Lindstrom, senior director of communications for Georgia's secretary of state, said: "It's unfortunate that the state election board sought to inject chaos in the 11th hour of the election."
- 2020年，佐治亚州州务卿布拉德·拉芬斯珀格拒绝了特朗普推翻佐治亚州总统大选结果的企图。
• In 2020, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger rebuffed Trump's efforts to overturn Georgia's presidential election results.
摩擦点：佐治亚州已花费数年时间争论如何解决其投票系统中的漏洞。
Friction point: Georgia has spent years debating how to address vulnerabilities in its voting system.
- 州务卿办公室表示，佐治亚州的投票机自2019年采购以来就未曾更新。该州称已启动采购流程，为下一个选举周期购置新机器。
• The secretary of state's office said Georgia's machines haven't been updated since they were purchased in 2019. The state said it's starting a procurement process for new machines for the next election cycle.
- 该州立法机构于2024年通过法律，规定从二维码选票系统转为手工填写纸质选票。该过渡原定于今年7月前实施，但立法者通过了延长期限的法案。
• The state's legislature passed a law in 2024 to move away from a QR-code ballot system to hand-marked paper ballots. This transition was supposed to be implemented by this July, but lawmakers passed a deadline extension.
- 该州计票机存在一个可能影响选票保密性的软件故障，州政府自2022年起即已知晓。但可用的修复补丁尚未安装。
• A software glitch on the state's tabulators that could impact ballot secrecy has been known to the state since 2022. But an available fix hasn't been installed.
深层背景：“这事儿谁手里都不干净，”这位佐治亚州选举官员对Axios表示。“州务卿本可以更努力地争取资金……立法机关本可以在州务卿提出要求时拨款。但……他们把彼此全都惹恼透了。”
Between the lines: "There are no clean hands in this," the Georgia election official told Axios. "The secretary of state could have fought harder for the funding... [The] legislature could have funded it when the secretary of state asked for it.
- 2025年，拉芬斯珀格敦促立法者重新考虑一项耗资4700万美元的投票机升级方案，提议采用一项耗资不足1500万美元的软件更新，或者将任何采购推迟到现有合同到期为止。
But ... they all have pissed each other off so much." • In 2025, Raffensperger urged lawmakers to reconsider a $47 million voting-machine upgrade, proposing a software update costing less than $15 million or delaying any purchases until the existing contract expired.
- 2026年，拉芬斯珀格告诉立法者，没有资金用于任何选举升级。没有任何升级获得拨款。
• In 2026, Raffensperger told legislators that there wasn't money for any election upgrades. No upgrades were funded. What they're saying:
他们怎么说：“资金分配最终是立法部门的职能，关于为何他们不认为有必要为‘选举基础设施改进’拨款的任何问题，应当向立法机关询问，”林德斯特伦对Axios表示。
"Money allocation is ultimately the function of the legislative branch, and any questions about why they did not deem it necessary to fund 'election infrastructure improvements' should be directed to the legislature," Lindstrom told Axios.
- 费夫里耶对Axios表示：“我怪立法机关。如果立法机关认为这是个问题，他们早就解决了，但他们没有。”
• Fevrier told Axios: "I blame the legislature. If the legislature thought it was an issue, they would have fixed it, and they didn't."
- 国土安全部未回应Axios的置评请求。
• The Department of Homeland Security didn't respond to Axios's request for comment.
核心看点：特朗普政府周五在加利福尼亚州遭遇挫折，一家上诉法院驳回了其要求搁置邮寄选票的诉求。但佐治亚州的这场纠纷表明，围绕联邦干预州选举的斗争远未结束。
The bottom line: The Trump administration suffered a setback in California on Friday, with an appeals court rejecting its demand to set aside mail-in ballots. But the dispute in Georgia shows that the fight over federal intervention in state elections is far from over.