at the polling place
the woman hands me the l o o o o o o o ong 
roll of candidates

if this were Russia she jokes ruefully
there’d be only one

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Image: Voting (undated) c/- State Library of NSW. Australia has a federal election on 21 May and early polling opened this week. Voters fill out their preferences for the House of Representatives – usually a choice between six or so candidates, and for the Senate. In NSW there are 75 candidates for 22 different parties as well as ungrouped candidates all vying for six Senate seats. As a result the voting paper (aka ‘the tablecloth’) is a long printed sheet. Yes, we still vote by marking paper ballots with small HB pencils supplied by the Australian Electoral Commission.

This morning’s musical offering is Brian Eno’s Music for Airports, realised by New York ensemble Bang on Can All Stars – great music for travelling or when you’re lining up to vote.