Why do Americans vote on Tuesdays?

427,020 views ・ 2012-04-10

TED-Ed


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

Translator: Christie Cheng Reviewer: Alan Watson
00:14
I want to tell you all about a piece of American history
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我想同大家講一段非常秘密嘅美國歷史
00:17
that is so secret,
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00:19
that nobody has done anything about it for 167 years,
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秘密到過去 167 年嚟冇人 對呢段歷史做過任何嘢
00:24
until right now.
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直到以家先至有人著手
00:26
And the way that we're going to uncover this vestigial organ of America past
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而我哋揭開呢段美國秘史嘅方法
00:30
is by asking this question:
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就係問:點解?
00:32
Why?
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00:34
As we all know --
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我哋都知道
00:35
(Laughter)
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(笑聲)
00:37
we are in the middle of another presidential election,
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新一屆總統選舉進行得如火如荼
大家都睇到火藥味仲好重
00:40
hotly contested, as you can see.
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00:41
(Laughter)
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00:42
But what you may not know is that American voter turnout
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但你可能唔知道
美國嘅投票率喺世界排名排到好後
00:46
ranks near the bottom of all countries in the entire world,
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00:49
138th of 172 nations.
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172 個國家之中,排第 138 位
00:52
This is the world's most famous democracy.
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但美國係世界上民主最出名嘅國家
00:55
So ...
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所以,點解我哋要揀喺星期二投票?
00:59
Why do we vote on Tuesday?
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01:02
Does anybody know?
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有冇人知?
01:05
And as a matter of fact, Michigan and Arizona are voting today.
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其實今日係密芝根州 同亞利桑拿州嘅投票日
01:08
Here's the answer:
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答案係:冇特別原因
01:10
Absolutely no good reason whatsoever.
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01:13
(Laughter)
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我唔係講笑
01:14
I'm not joking.
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01:16
You will not find the answer in the Declaration of Independence,
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無論喺美國獨立宣言抑或憲法裏面
01:19
nor will you find it in the Constitution.
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你亦都唔會搵到答案
01:21
It is just a stupid law from 1845.
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而呢條,只係 1845 年訂立嘅蠢法例
01:24
(Laughter)
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(笑聲)
1845 年嘅美國人以馬車作為交通工具
01:30
In 1845, Americans traveled by horse and buggy.
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01:33
As did I, evidently.
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就好似片中嘅我咁
01:34
It took a day to get to the county seat to vote, a day to get back,
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選民需要花至少兩日來回縣城投票
01:37
and you couldn't travel on the Sabbath, so, Tuesday it was.
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而佢哋又唔可以喺星期日出門
所以投票日定喺星期二
01:42
I don't often travel by horse and buggy, I would imagine most of you don't,
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我就好少坐馬車
我諗你哋都好少
當我聽到頭先個解釋嘅時候 覺得好神奇
01:46
so when I found out about this, I was fascinated.
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所以我聯絡一個叫 「點解係星期二?仲有咩?」嘅組織
01:48
I linked up with a group called, what else -- "Why Tuesday?"
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去問一啲國內知名、獲選嘅政治領袖
01:51
to go and ask our nation's most prominent elected leaders
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睇佢哋知唔知呢條問題嘅答案
01:54
if they knew the answer to the question,
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01:56
"Why do we vote on Tuesday?"
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「點解我哋喺星期二投票?」
01:59
(Video) Rick Santorum: Anybody knows? OK, I'm going to be stumped on this.
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(影片)Rick Santorum: 有冇人知呀?
好啦,雖然好冒昧
但有冇人知道點解 我哋㨂喺星期二投票呀?
02:03
Anybody knows why we vote on Tuesdays?
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記者:你知唔知呀?
02:05
Jacob Soboroff: Do you happen to know? Ron Paul: On Tuesdays?
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Ron Paul:訂喺星期二?
記者:11 月第一個星期二
02:08
JS: The day after the first Monday in November.
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Ron Paul:我唔知點解係咁
02:10
RP: I don't know how that originated.
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記者:你知唔知點解 我哋喺星期二投票?
02:12
JS: Do you know why we do vote on Tuesday? Newt Gingrich: No.
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Newt Gingrich:唔知
02:15
Dick Lugar: No, I don't. (Laughter)
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Dick Lugar:我唔知
02:17
Dianne Feinstein: I don't. Darrell Issa: No.
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Dianne Feinstein:唔知
Darrell Issa:唔知
02:19
John Kerry: In truth, really, I'm not sure why.
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John Kerry:講真,我唔知點解
02:23
JS: OK, thanks very much.
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02:24
(Laughter)
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(笑聲)
02:27
JS: These are people that live for election day,
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講者︰呢啲以選票搵食嘅人 都唔知點解我哋喺嗰日投票
02:29
yet they don't know why we vote on that very day.
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02:32
(Laughter)
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02:33
Chris Rock said, "They don't want you to vote.
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Chris Rock 話︰ 「因為政府唔想我哋投票。
02:36
If they did, we wouldn't vote on a Tuesday in November.
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如果政府想我哋投, 就唔會喺十一月嘅一個星期二搞。
02:39
Have you ever thrown a party on a Tuesday?
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你會唔會喺星期二開派對?
02:41
(Laughter)
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02:42
No, of course not. Nobody would show up."
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梗係唔會啦,因為冇人會嚟!」
02:45
(Laughter)
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(笑聲)
02:48
Here's the cool part.
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嚟到犀利嘅部分
02:49
Because we asked this question, "Why Tuesday?"
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因為我哋問咗 「點解係星期二」呢個問題
02:51
there is now this bill, the Weekend Voting Act
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依家有人喺美國國會裏面提議 「週末投票」嘅法案
02:54
in the Congress of the United States of America.
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02:56
It would move election day from Tuesday to the weekend,
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通過咗嘅話 投票日就會由星期二改去週末
02:59
so that -- duh -- more people can vote.
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咁做,唔使問阿貴,都知多啲人會投票
03:01
(Applause)
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(掌聲)
03:06
It has only taken 167 years,
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用咗 167 年
03:08
but finally, we are on the verge of changing American history.
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我哋終於開始改變美國歷史
03:12
Thank you very much.
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多謝各位
03:13
(Applause)
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(掌聲)
多謝
03:17
Thanks a lot.
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03:18
(Applause)
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