America's voting system is crazy -- here's what you need to know 瘋狂的美國投票系統：這些是你該知道的事

It may be a long, raucous and rambling road to the White House, but choosing the next American president is anything but simple.

通往白宮的路或許漫長、喧鬧、混亂，但選出下一任總統這件事情再簡單不過了。

While many voters won't pay attention until a few weeks before Election Day, running for president takes years of active planning, fundraising and calculation.

雖然很多選民在選舉日幾周前才會開始關注這些事情，但競選總統可是需要好幾年的規劃、募資和計算。

But when should you start caring? And what's the difference between a caucus and a primary? Here's what you need to know about the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.

但該什麼時候開始關注這些事情呢？黨團會議和初選的差在哪呢？以下是關於2016美國總統大選你應該要知道的事情。

Why do U.S. presidential elections take so long? 為什麼美國總統大選要花這麼久的時間？

America's two main political parties -- Democratic and Republican -- choose their respective nominees through party-sponsored contests in each of the states and U.S. territories, a process that starts in February and takes up to five months.

美國有兩個主要的政黨：民主黨和共和黨，兩黨透過在每個州和美國領土上舉行的黨團贊助的競賽選出各自的候選人，從二月開始整個過程耗時五個月。

Iowa and New Hampshire traditionally kick off the process early in the year, and then other states follow -- but before that, candidates have typically spent a year laying the groundwork for campaigns in those regions.

愛荷華州和新罕布夏州照慣例會在年初開始整個過程，然後其他州在跟進，但在這之前，候選人通常會在那些區域花上一年的時間為競選打好基礎。

Once each party has a candidate, they spend the rest of the summer and autumn campaigning until the general election on November 8.

當一個黨推派出了一個候選人，他們會將剩下的夏天和秋天進行競選活動直到11月8號大選當天。

Why do they cost so much money? 為什麼他們會花這麼多錢？

One reason they cost a lot is because they last so long. Unlike some other countries, there are no rules on how early a candidate can start campaigning -- Ted Cruz officially announced he was running in March 2015, nearly 20 months before the election.

其中一個會花這麼多錢的原因就是因為整個過程耗時這麼久，不像其他國家，(美國政府)沒有規定候選人多久以前才能開始競選活動，泰德·克魯茲在2015年三月正式宣布他參選，將近大選前20個月。

Also unlike some other countries, there's no limit on how much you can spend. A presidential campaign can cost up to $1 billion -- and that's not even counting money spent by outside groups. It's not cheap to travel across the country for two years or more, buy advertisements on television, and pay a small army of campaign workers.

還有一點也不像其他國家，（在美國）花費金額沒有限制。

一場總統競選活動可以花費高達十億美金，而這個金額還沒有將黨外組織的花費納入計算，花兩年以上的時間遊歷各州、買電視廣告還有付錢給那些競選活動的工作人員的代價可不便宜。

What's the difference between a "caucus" and a "primary"?

黨團會議和初選的差別在哪裡？

States have two ways of collecting their party members' votes when choosing a presidential candidate -- "primaries" and "caucuses."

在選出總統候選人的時候，每個州有兩個方法可以收集他們政黨成員的票：初選和黨團會議。

A "primary" is what most people traditionally think of when they imagine voting -- people show up at a neighborhood polling place to vote for their candidate by ballot.

初選是大多數人想像選舉時會第一個想到的：人們出現在住家附近的投票地點抔票選出他們的候選人。

A "caucus" is very different. It's a neighborhood event that requires several hours of active communal participation and debate, and takes place in the evening in a home or public space, depending on the size of the caucus location.

黨團會議非常的不同，這是一個需要幾個小時的積極公民參與以及辯論的地區性活動，在傍晚時舉行並會依照黨團會議地點的大小決定是在家中或是公共區域進行。

When should I start caring? 我該什麼時候開始關注總統大選？

Thirteen states and territories will hold caucuses or primaries on the first Tuesday in March -- also known as "Super Tuesday." The results will come in around the same time, and the sheer number of elections could cause major changes in the state of the race.

13州和地區將會在將會在三月第一個星期二舉行黨團會議或是初選，俗稱「超級星期二」，而結果也會在差不多的時間出爐，這些選舉所出懸殊的數字可能會改變整個比賽的狀況。

So who are the top Republican contenders? 所以最有機會的共和黨的競選人有哪些？

Donald Trump: The real estate mogul has led the field for months despite breaking many rules of traditional campaigning, including criticizing prisoners of war, Mexicans, Muslims and women (amongst others). Very few experts predicted he would be so successful.

唐納·川普：這個房地產大亨儘管違反了許多傳統的競選活動規則包括批評戰爭的俘虜、墨西哥人、穆斯林和女人（以及其他人），但他已經領先了好幾個月，極少專家預期他會如此的成功。

Ted Cruz: The fiercely conservative Texas Senator has made a name for himself as an outsider in Congress. He orchestrated a government shutdown in 2013.

泰德·克魯茲：來勢洶洶的保守派德克薩斯州參議員，已非國會中的一員闖出名聲，2013年的政府停擺就是他所策劃。

Marco Rubio: The Florida Senator came to power with the rise of the anti-establishment "Tea Party" side of his party in 2010, but has shown ability to work with Democrats.

馬可·魯比歐：佛羅里達州參議員在2010年受到黨中衝撞體制的茶黨派支持而崛起，但在與民主黨黨員工作時才真正展現出他的能力。

And who are the top Democrats? 而最有機會的民主黨的競選人有哪些？

Hillary Clinton: She's been planning this campaign almost since the moment she lost in 2008. Wife of Bill, she's seen as somewhat of a continuation of Barack Obama and a safe pair of hands by Democrats.

希拉蕊·柯林頓：他從2008年輸掉選舉的那一刻起她就已經開始替競選佈局，比爾的老婆，她是巴拉克·歐巴馬的延續也是讓民主黨非常安心的候選人。

Bernie Sanders: The Vermont Senator represents the most liberal wing of mainstream American politics, but some Democrats see him as too lefty to win a national election.

伯尼·桑德斯：佛蒙特州的參議員，他代表著美國主流政治最自由的翅膀，但有些民主黨員他的過度左派會讓他無法贏的全國選舉。

When will we finally know who the nominees will be? 什麼時候會知道最終候選人的名單呢？

We usually know who the party nominees will be by late spring, but they are not officially chosen until the national party convention in the summer.

我們通常會在春天晚期知道政黨的候選人人選，但他們直到夏天的全國政黨大會才會真正的定下來。

Does the nominee with the most votes win? 得到最多票的候選人就會獲勝嗎？

If only! 但願如此！

Instead of selecting a president based on how many votes they receive, the Founding Fathers established what's called the Electoral College. Each state gets the same number of electors as it has Congressmen and Senators -- and the bigger the state, the more electors it has.

取代由得票數來選出總統，開國元勳創立了選舉人團，每個州的選舉人人數與該州在美國國會的美國眾議院和美國參議院議員總人數相等，越大的州就有越多的選舉人。

In all but two states (Maine and Nebraska), it's a winner-take-all system -- so if you win 60% of the vote in California, you get all of that state's electors. For example, in 2012 Obama got 51% of the nationwide votes, which translated into 61% of the Electoral College votes.

除了兩個州（緬因州和內布拉斯加州），其餘都是採取贏者全贏的系統，所以如果你在加州贏的百分之六十的得票數，你將可以得到該州全部的選局人，舉例來說，2012年歐巴馬在全國得到百分之51的選票，經過換算就是百分之61的選舉人團得票數。

In the end, whoever receives 270 Electoral College votes or more wins. Don't even get us started with what happens if there's a tie -- and we already know what happens when there's a recount.

在最後，得到超過270票選舉人團票數的人就獲勝，就別提如果平手的話會怎麼樣，我們都已經知道重新驗票會發生什麼事了！

原文網址：http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/31/politics/us-election-2016-explained/