Ugh.   More questionable news from the world of electronic voting machines.   Kim Zetter at Wired is reporting Premier Election Solutions, Diebold’s voting machine division, is being sold to a competitor, Election Systems & Software (ES&S), but the sale may run into some trouble:

The sale gives ES&S, already the largest voting machine maker in the country, a near monopoly on the voting machine industry. According to the company’s website, its systems, used in 43 states, counted “approximately 50 percent of the votes in the last four major U.S. elections.”

Hart InterCivic, a voting machine firm based in Texas, filed an antitrust suit (.pdf) on Friday, seeking a temporary and permanent injunction against the sale. According to the suit, the sale “poses a significant and imminent threat of irreparable antitrust injury to plaintiffs.”

The sale also threatens harm to election districts that purchase voting equipment in that it will likely increase the costs of equipment and result in a decrease in the quality of products, the suit alleges. It will also, ultimately, cause “harm to the voters of the United States, in the form of loss of confidence in the integrity and security of the means by which elections are performed.”

Hah.   “Loss of confidence in the integrity and security” of the voting system in this country?   I already had no confidence.   Zetter continues:

The suit alleges that Diebold and ES&S have long engaged in anti-competitive practices to win bids “through both legitimate and illegitimate acts and conduct.”

This behavior includes submitting low-ball bids to get contracts, after which the companies allegedly gouge customers with additional expenses for after-market service and upgrades. The suit alleges the companies also exaggerate the capabilities of their systems, misrepresent the status of their certification and exert improper and undue influence on government officials to win contracts.

The suit identifies ES&S as serving 45 percent of the country’s approximately 180,000 voting precincts. Premier serves approximately 23 percent; Sequoia Voting Systems serves 18 percent; Hart InterCivi serves 9 percent; and Dominion Voting Systems serves 5 percent.

Because of the anti-trust concerns, Senator Charles Schumer has asked the Justice Department to look into the sale.   Wired reports Sen. Schumer saying

the deal raises anti-competitiveness concerns and has “adverse implications on how our country votes.”

I hope Sen. Schumer doesn’t stop at asking the Justice Department to investigate this sale of Premier.   This is a start, but please, senator, let’s investigate the entire electronic-voting-machine industry and force them to adopt rigorous integrity and security standards.   Is it too much to ask that we ensure our voting system actually works?