Desperate Measures

By Melissa August, Val Castronovo, Matthew Cooper, Daren Fonda, David Kuhn, Ellin Martens, Benjamin Nugent, Julie Rawe, John Rosenblatt, Josh Tyrangiel, Alexandra Wolfe

MORE FUN THAN EXIT POLLS Less than a fourth of Alabama's 2.2 million registered voters showed up at the polls for last week's presidential primaries. New Mexico boasted a less than 30% turnout. As we yawn our way to the November election, it might pay to look at how some other countries are attempting to battle voter ennui:

--Russians who vote this week in the port city of Vladivostok--where more than 20 local elections have been invalidated recently, many of them on account of turnout less than the legal minimum--will receive lottery tickets for cars, TVs, VCRs, refrigerators, washing machines and baskets of food.

--British Parliament members are considering compulsory voting, with a 5[pound] fine against citizens who fail to return a ballot.

--In Mexico, where the majority of registered voters are women, supporters of the Institutional Revolutionary Party geared up for next month's presidential election by staging an outdoor performance featuring male strippers sporting G-strings and boxer shorts emblazoned with the slogan "Vote for P.R.I."