Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images

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."

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.