What's the deal with the ink proving you voted in Afghanistan?

[napi21]

Didn't shrub just talk about the 10 million people who registered to vote? Why are they using black ink on each voters hand to prove they hadn't voted already?

[harmonyguy]

1. Indelible ink frequently used in ....

... less developed nations, as a way of marking those who have voted. If someone show up at the polls with the mark on their hand, they are not allowed to vote again.

In most cases I'm aware of the indelible ink is UV ink so that there is no big black mark. They place their hand under a UV light and the mark becomes visible.

No idea why the stuff was black and apparently wasn't indelible.

HG

[Jack_Dawson]

3. You mean the ink never leaves their skin?

:shrug:

Just playing Devil's advocate here...

[harmonyguy]

4. Valid question Jack !

Actually it does, just very slowly. If you take a 'permanent' pen like a Magic Marker, and get the ink on your skin, it's on there for a long time. You can wash and scrub and it pretty much stays put. Over a period of days it eventually wears off.

That's the concept anyway.
HG

[Massacure]

7. Well you skins cells die, and the new ones don't have ink marks on them,

So it stays for the couple days until the skin, um, 'sheds' i guess you could call it. It's a bad word, but I can't think of a better one. :P

[rpannier]

2. To Prevent People from Voting for Others

One of the concerns was that some groups would intimidate people from voting and then send someone in to vote for the scared person -- thus voting twice.

[shraby]

5. Problem was, the ink washed off.

[rpannier]

6. I realize that...

but that was the intent. I was not judging its success.