Waiting To Vote

I’ve been in line 2 hours now, Some scanners somehow broken, Annoyance and anxiety Apparent but unspoken. We inch along, a patient group, With no way we can tell Who’s on the side we each support And that is just as well. At last we are inside and now Our ballots are in hand, But there is an announcement Hard to really understand. It seems the working scanners have Decided, too, to quit. And do the voters like this? They do not, one little bit! So what to do? Each scanner has A box within its base Into which you slide your ballot, Meant for using “just in case.” The votes will be “hand-counted,” We are shockingly assured, Incompetence a syndrome That, it seems, cannot be cured. In 3 hours’ time, I cast my vote But left there in dismay That such a thing should happen With technology today.