Darth Vader barred from voting in Ukrainian election

(Image credit: Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Darth Vader can choke people out without touching them, but he can't vote in Ukraine while wearing his helmet.

A Ukrainian man who changed his name to that of the Star Wars Sith Lord learned that lesson Sunday when poll workers refused to let him vote in Ukraine's parliamentary election. Though Darth Alekseyevich Vader produced a passport with his face on it, election officials insisted he also remove his costume to confirm his identity, a proposition Vader angrily declined.

Making matters even more bizarre, Vader was himself a candidate for parliament, having run on a promise to turn the country into a "galactic empire." And he left the polling location insisting that the setback did not mean the "empire will not win."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Here's footage of the strange scene, from The Associated Press.

Despite his mastery of the Force and the persuasive Jedi mind trick, Vader is not expected to win.

Explore More

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.