Ink

?????

You're saying that you got ink on your fingernails from doing something with the ink used in an election, and you are having difficulty removing the ink from your fingernails?

I'm sure that the ink will vary depending on a variety of things, maybe including what country you are in, the printing process used, etc.

For example, were you involved in printing paper ballots in a fairly regular printing process / plant, but with a special ink? Or, did the ink come from something like an inkjet, laser, thermal, or impact printer used to print a paper confirmation from an electronic voting machine?

In some societies, one dips one's finger into an ink jar after voting to signify that they have voted and to keep them from voting more than once. Obviously it must be permanent enough to remain in place until after the election.

I don't know what gives it its tenacity.

Tornado, artsmith and lyn have all made very good comments on this subject. I had never considered the intimidation factor that may come with exercising a civic freedom. This sometimes has a reverse effect: "During the Zimbabwean presidential election, 2008, reports surfaced that those who had chosen not to vote were attacked and beaten by government sponsored mobs. The mobs attacked those without ink on their finger." (From the Wiki article)

To the question: Common election ink contains silver nitrate, which will stain skin when exposed to UV light. The stain effect is visible on the skin for 3 or 4 days, with the cuticle and fingernail remaining discolored for about 4 weeks.

It is an interesting Wiki article. I read it once for context, to provide an interesting response to this thread. Then I read it again, more slowly this time, considering the freedoms that so many people enjoy but so many people around the globe are denied.