四年一度的美國總統(tǒng)選舉過程漫長而復(fù)雜，你可曾好奇過為什么美國大選總是在周二舉行？說起來這和馬車還有點關(guān)系呢。

Ever wonder why Americans always vote in federal elections (and many state, and local elections) on Tuesdays? There are a few reasons—including a little something to do with the horse and buggy.

你是否曾好奇過為什么美國的大選（還有很多州和地方的選舉）總是在星期二舉行？這里有幾個原因，還有一個原因和馬車有點關(guān)系。

Between 1788 and 1845, states decided their own voting dates. In 2012, Senate historian Don Ritchie told NPR that strategy resulted in chaos, a “crazy quilt of elections” held all across the country at different times to pick the electors—the white, male property owners who would cast their votes for president on the first Wednesday of December.

1788年至1845年間，美國各州自行決定自己的選舉日。2012年，參議院歷史學(xué)家唐納德·里奇告訴美國國家公共電臺，這一策略導(dǎo)致了混亂，美國各地選出選舉人的時間不同，選舉活動就像“用一條碎布縫成的被單一樣”。那時的選舉人都是擁有不動產(chǎn)的白人男性，他們將在12月的第一個星期三投票選舉總統(tǒng)。

In 1792, a law was passed mandating that state elections be held within a 34-day period before that day, so most elections took place in November. (Society was mostly agrarian; in November, the harvest was finished but winter hadn’t yet hit, making it the perfect time to vote.)

1792年美國通過了一條法律，規(guī)定州選舉必須在12月第一個星期三之前的34天內(nèi)舉行，因此大部分州選舉都在11月舉行。（當(dāng)時美國社會以農(nóng)耕為主，11月秋收已經(jīng)結(jié)束但冬天還未到來，正好適合開展選舉活動。）

The glacial pace of presidential elections wasn’t a huge issue in the late 18th and early 19th centuries—communication was slow, so results took weeks to announce anyway—but with the advent of the railroad and telegraph, Congress decided it was time to standardize a date.

在18世紀(jì)末和19世紀(jì)初，大選進(jìn)展緩慢不是什么大問題，因為那時的通訊很慢，大選結(jié)果出來了也要過上幾周才能通知到各方，但是在鐵路和電報面世后，美國國會決定是時候統(tǒng)一選舉日了。

Monday was out, because it would require people to travel to the polls by buggy on the Sunday Sabbath. Wednesday was also not an option, because it was market day, and farmers wouldn’t be able to make it to the polls. So it was decided that Tuesday would be the day that Americans would vote in elections, and in 1845, Congress passed a law that presidential elections would be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

星期一被排除了，因為這樣人們可能得在安息日乘坐馬車趕往投票處。星期三也不行，因為星期三是趕集日，農(nóng)民無法在這天去投票。因此就決定讓美國民眾在星期二這天進(jìn)行大選投票。1845年，美國國會通過了一項法律，規(guī)定11月第一個星期一后的星期二為總統(tǒng)大選日。

英文來源：Mental Floss

翻譯&編輯：丹妮