Tattooed Voters

Citizens of La Paz, Bolivia, sought the polls last week for a municipal election. As each approached the ballot box his right hand was seized by a policeman who tattooed the palm with a special stamp.

As he dropped his ballot each tattooed voter was handed an explanatory card: "The mark on your hand will fade out in a few days. Its purpose is to prevent you from voting illegally more than once. At the last election it is estimated that 50% of the voters 'repeated.' If you have been tattooed anywhere except inconspicuously on the palm of the right hand you possess the right to complain to the municipality."