The quietly arranged shotgun wedding between voting-machine giants would give ES&S control of election systems in use in almost 70 percent of the nation's voting precincts. Federal Judge Robert Kugler agreed to hear Tuesday the request for immediate injunction brought by a small competitor Hart InterCivic Inc.
 
Hart argues that resolving the matter at some distant date could potentially impact elections across the nation because state and local officials couldn't wait on a decision and would have to do business with ES&S.
 
Hart's attorney Jonathan Rubin, an anti-trust specialist for the Washington law firm Patton Boggs, contends that jurisdictions across the nation select voting-machines based on competitive bids, which would be next to impossible if the acquisition went through.
 
"We're hopeful that the judge will recognize the profound public importance of putting an immediate stop to the deal," Rubin told McClatchy.