The Justice Department has now announced that it intends to block certain parts of the deal on antitrust grounds. That is a very welcome step, but the department and Congress need to do more to protect the vote.
 
After the 2000 presidential election, and Florida’s hanging chads, states vowed to replace old-style voting machines with new and better technology. The electronic machines now in use across the country have their own serious problems. They are far too vulnerable to hackers, and unless they have voter-verifiable paper trails and careful audits their results are not trustworthy.
 
The Justice Department is right to try to block the deal between the voting machine makers. It was a clear violation of antitrust law and a clear threat to the public interest. Less competition would mean less choice for states and localities looking to buy and service voting machines — and even less incentive for industry to produce first-rate products. We hope a federal court approves the Justice Department’s decision and that Election Systems and Software quickly finds a buyer.