没有授予联邦政府的权力保留给各州和人民，由州和地方政府分享。
Powers not granted to the federal government are reserved for states and the people, which are divided between state and local governments.
没有授予联邦政府的权力保留给各州和人民，由州和地方政府分享。
Most Americans have more daily contact with their state and local governments than with the federal government. Police departments, libraries, and schools — not to mention driver’s licenses and parking tickets — usually fall under the oversight of state and local governments. Each state has its own written constitution, and these documents are often far more elaborate than their federal counterpart. The Alabama Constitution, for example, contains 310,296 words — more than 40 times as many as the U.S. Constitution.
与联邦政府相比，大多数美国人与州政府和地方政府的日常联系更多。警察部门、图书馆和学校——更不用说驾照和停车罚单了——通常由州和地方政府监管。每个州都有自己的成文宪法，这些宪法往往比联邦宪法更为详尽。例如，阿拉巴马州宪法包含310296个词，是美国宪法的40多倍。
Under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, all powers not granted to the federal government are reserved for the states and the people. All state governments are modeled after the federal government and consist of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The U.S. Constitution mandates that all states uphold a “republican form” of government, although the three-branch structure is not required.
根据美国宪法第十修正案，所有没有授予联邦政府的权力都保留给各州和人民。所有州政府都以联邦政府为模式，由三个分支组成：行政、立法和司法。美国宪法规定，所有州都必须实行“共和政体”，不过并不强制要求实行“三权分立”。
Executive Branch
In every state, the executive branch is headed by a governor who is directly elected by the people. In most states, the other leaders in the executive branch are also directly elected, including the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, the secretary of state, and auditors and commissioners. States reserve the right to organize in any way, so they often vary greatly with regard to executive structure. No two state executive organizations are identical.
在每个州，行政分支由人民直接选举产生的州长领导。在大多数州，行政分支的其他领导人也直接由选举产生，包括副州长、总检察长、州务卿以及审计员和警察局长。州保留以任何方式组织政府的权利，因此各州在行政结构方面往往有很大的差异。没有两个州的执行分支是相同的。
Legislative Branch
All 50 states have legislatures made up of elected representatives, who consider matters brought forth by the governor or introduced by its members to create legislation that becomes law. The legislature also approves a state’s budget and initiates tax legislation and articles of impeachment. The latter is part of a system of checks and balances among the three branches of government that mirrors the federal system and prevents any branch from abusing its power.
所有50个州都有立法机构，由选举产生的代表组成，他们审议州长或其他州政府官员提出的事项，以制定成为法律的立法。立法机关还有权批准州的预算，启动税收立法和弹劾条款。后者是政府三个分支之间的制衡体系的一部分，是对联邦三权分立体制的复制，以防止任何分支滥用权力。
Except for one state, Nebraska, all states have a bicameral legislature made up of two chambers: a smaller upper house and a larger lower house. Together the two chambers make state laws and fulfill other governing responsibilities. (Nebraska is the lone state that has just one chamber in its legislature.) The smaller upper chamber is always called the Senate, and its members generally serve longer terms, usually four years. The larger lower chamber is most often called the House of Representatives, but some states call it the Assembly or the House of Delegates. Its members usually serve shorter terms, often two years.
除内布拉斯加州外，其余所有49个州的立法机构都采用两院制：一个人数较少的上议院和一个人数较多的下议院。这两个议院共同制定州内法律以及履行其他管理职责。内布拉斯加州是全美50个州中唯一一个立法机构只包含一个议院的州。上议院叫Senate（参议院），参议员任期较长，为四年。大多数州的下议院叫House-of-Representatives（众议院），但也有州的众议院叫Assembly或House-of-Delegates。众议员的任期较短，通常为两年。
Judicial Branch
State judicial branches are usually led by the state supreme court, which hears appeals from lower-level state courts. Court structures and judicial appointments are determined either by legislation or the state constitution. The Supreme Court focuses on correcting errors made in lower courts and therefore holds no trials. Rulings made in state supreme courts are normally binding; however, when questions are raised regarding consistency with the U.S. Constitution, matters may be appealed directly to the United States Supreme Court.
州司法系统通常由州最高法院领导，负责审理下级州法院的上诉。法院结构和司法任命由立法或州宪法决定。最高法院聚焦于纠正下级法院的错误，因此不进行审判。在州最高法院作出的裁决通常具有约束力；但是，当对是否符合美国宪法提出疑问时，可直接向美国最高法院提出上诉。