Senate Rules Committee to Look at Potential Impact of Sale of Diebold Voting Machine Business to Largest Competitor

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, announced today that the Committee staff will begin a formal review of Diebold’s proposed sale of its voting machine subsidiary, Premier, to its largest competitor, Election Systems & Software (ES&S). Senator Schumer announced he will seek input from state and local election officials on the sale’s implications for elections administration, and that the staff’s findings will be compiled in a public report.

On September 14, Senator Schumer asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the proposed merger for possible anti-trust violations. The following day, Hart InterCivic Inc., a Texas-based voting-machine company, filed suit to try to stop the sale on anti-trust grounds. ES&S machines counted approximately 50% of all ballots cast in the last four major U.S. elections, and the merger would result in the company acquiring an approximately 70% share of the voting machine market.

Voting rights advocates also have expressed concern over the proposed sale, asserting that it threatens to undermine the reliability and integrity of elections. On September 28, Voter Action, an advocacy organization, filed a complaint with the Department of Justice, challenging the merger on anti-trust grounds and arguing that it has the “potential for disturbing U.S. election processes and results.” Senator Schumer said in today’s announcement that it is “in the public interest to maintain a range of choices in voting systems. If one company has a stranglehold over the market for voting machines, it runs the risk of jeopardizing the integrity of our elections.”

The Democratic National Committee supports a system of elections administration that is accessible, open, and fair. We will continue to monitor this issue, and others affecting the administration of elections.