什么是中期选举？请扫码观看上面的视频
缺席投票让无法到投票点的人可以执行投票权，其中包括因为旅居海外、生病、在外旅行或于军中服役等无法在选举日到投票点投票的情况。缺席投票让已登记的选民以邮件寄送选票◦《海外居民缺席投票法案》属联邦法，主要是针对总统大选的缺席投票◦ 其他选举的缺席投票法交由各州规范且办法各有不同。以俄勒冈州为例，所有的选举都是以邮件方式寄送，但投票人仍可以选择亲自到各县投票点投票。
Absentee voting allows voters who cannot come to polling places to cast their ballots. A variety of circumstances, including residency abroad, illness, travel or military service, can prevent voters from coming to the polls on Election Day. Absentee ballots permit registered voters to mail in their votes. The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, a federal law, governs absentee voting in presidential elections. Absentee voting rules for all other elections are set by the states, and vary. In Oregon, all elections are conducted by mail, but voters have the option of voting in person at county polling stations.
死忠选民是一群不管候选人的人格或政见，始终支持某一特定政党候选人的选民。在选举时，候选人一方面必须巩固死忠选民的支持，提振他们对选举的热情，另一方面又必须开发尚未决定要投谁的中间选民。
A base is a group of voters who almost always support a particular party’s candidates, regardless of personality or the specific views a candidate may hold. In elections, candidates often have to strike a balance between increasing the enthusiasm of their base and reaching out to undecided and more moderate voters.
驴是民主党的象征。民主党总统候选人安德鲁‧杰克森是第一个被拿来比作驴子的民主党人，但真正让这个象征流传至今的则是卡通漫画家托马斯‧纳斯特，他把民主党画成驴子，一种被认为很顽固的动物。民主党也展现了他们的幽默感，接受了这种调侃，把驴子当成非官方的象征，认为驴子和民主党都有不轻言放弃的特性。多年来民主党也把不同样式的驴子图案应用在出版品上。
The Donkey represents the Democratic Party. Presidential candidate Andrew Jackson was the first Democrat to be associated with the donkey symbol. However, the most lasting impression came from the cartoons of Thomas Nast, which pictured the Democratic Party as a donkey, an animal considered stubborn. The Democratic Party, demonstrating a sense of humor, accepted the animal as its unofficial symbol, observing that the donkey and the Democratic Party share many fine qualities, such as not giving up easily. They have used various donkey designs on publications over the years.
大象代表共和党。政治漫画家托马斯‧纳斯特在1874年用一只抢掠的大象代表「共和党票」。共和党人迅速将这一形象作为党的象征。经过多年，驴子与大象分别已经成为两党最广为人知的象征。
The Elephant represents the Republican Party. Political cartoonist Thomas Nast created both images for the publication Harper's Weekly in 1874. One of his cartoons depicted a marauding elephant to represent the "Republican vote." Republicans quickly embraced the symbol as their party's own and use the design widely. Over the years, the donkey and the elephant have become the accepted symbols of the Democratic and Republican parties.
