'Bring your own pen': How Bolivia is voting amid the pandemic
OCTOBER 18, 202012:10 PMUPDATED 4 HOURS AGO
By Marcelo Rochabrun
3 MIN READ
LA PAZ (Reuters) - Deni Blanco used to sell food outside voting locations in La Paz each election cycle, an easy way to make some extra money. This year, as Bolivia holds elections in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, she is selling something else: pens.
“My sister saw it on TV, that this time every voter should bring their own pen to vote, and she said, ‘Why don’t we sell them?’” Blanco said, outside an outdoor voting location in Ciudadela Ferroviaria, a low-income area of La Paz.
Blanco was selling pens for 1 boliviano ($0.15) each, and after two hours of voting said she had sold around 50.
Bolivia is holding mandatory in-person presidential elections on Sunday, even though it has been hard-hit by the pandemic. Nearly 8,500 Bolivians have died of the disease, giving it one of the highest fatality rates per capita in the world.
Bolivia’s ballot, much-delayed due to the pandemic, will be a test for electoral authorities in the region. Neighboring Peru is set to elect a new president next April.
More:
https://in.reuters.com/article/bolivia-election-coronavirus/bring-your-own-pen-how-bolivia-is-voting-amid-the-pandemic-idINKBN2730PV
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