失敗機率高
With local government elections around the corner, support for a referendum to lower the voting age to 18 has picked up pace, driven by youth leagues and politicians alike.
隨著地方政府選舉即將到來，下修投票年齡至18歲的公投支持率，在青年團體和政治人物的力推之下，也跟著上升。
around the corner 即將到來、就在附近
The results of the referendum, in which Taiwanese 18-year-olds are eligible to vote, would pave the way for extending the right to vote for elected representatives to all adult citizens in Taiwan.
18歲公民已有資格參與公投，公投的結果將為台灣全體成人公民參與民選官員選舉的權利鋪路。
eligible (adj.)有資格的；be eligible for 符合……的資格；be eligible to VR 有資格去……pave the way 為……鋪路
Currently, voters are required to be at least 20 years old to vote in local and national elections.
目前，選民要20歲以上才能在地方和全國選舉中投票。
As it stands, at age 18, a Taiwanese citizen can serve in the military and fall on the battlefield without ever having cast a vote in a local election.
目前18歲的台灣公民可以服兵役並可能在戰場上喪命，但卻從未在地方選舉投票過。
as it stands 目前cast a vote(ballot) 投票
The most common voting age internationally is 18, with 90% of 190 countries around the world sharing this threshold.
在國際上，最常見的投票年齡門檻是18歲，佔全世界190個國家中的90％。
threshold (n.)門檻
Exceptions to this include Taiwan’s Asian neighbors South Korea, where the minimum voting age is 19, and Malaysia and Singapore, in which the voting age is set at 21.
不在此列的有台灣的亞洲鄰國南韓，當地最低投票年齡是19歲，而馬來西亞和新加坡則限制21歲以上才能投票。
exception (n.)例外
Democratic Progressive Party legislator Hung Sun-han has recently risen to support the change, calling it a matter of equity and a necessity in order to keep up with the times.
民進黨立委洪申翰最近挺身支持這項改變，稱之為公平性的議題以及為跟上時代必須做的事情。
legislator (n.)立法者、立委equity (n.)公平、公正；inequity (n.)不公平keep up with the times=change with the times=move with the times 跟上時代、與時俱進
However, given that the referendum will be held alongside local government elections, which have traditionally low voter turnout, the chances that it could fail remain high.
然而，由於公投將與地方選舉一起舉行，而傳統上地方政府選舉的投票率低，因此公投失敗的機率還是很高。
given that + S + V 有鑑於……、考慮到……turn out 出席(某活動) ；turnout (n.)投票人數
For the referendum to pass, it needs at least 9.65 million voters, or 50% of the total number of eligible voters in the country, to vote in favor of it.
公投如果要通過，就必須要有至少965萬人投下同意票，也就是國內合格選民總數的50％。
vote in favor of sth. 投下同意票；vote against sth. 投反對票
This number is more than the 8.17 million votes that were cast for President Tsai Ing-wen in 2020.
這個數字比在2020年大選中投票給蔡英文總統的817萬人還要多。