Israeli Election Committee Decision on Voter Data to be Voted On

The Israeli Supreme Court has proposed that the Central Elections Committee, not its chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg, make the final decision regarding the real-time transfer of information about citizens who have already voted. This development is significant because the committee currently has a right-wing majority that favors continuing such monitoring to encourage voter turnout.

The Supreme Court's suggestion came after the governing coalition abandoned its attempt to pass legislation on the matter. Justice Sohlberg had previously prohibited the use of such data, ruling that poll workers and observers are not permitted to share information outside the polling station about who has voted. He determined that voting status, time, and polling station type are private information protected by privacy laws.

Sohlberg also stated that party representatives may only access this information for their official duties at the polling station and are not allowed to use it for party purposes. This ruling followed a petition filed by attorney Shahar Ben Meir and the Privacy Protection Clinic at Tel Aviv University, which argued that applications like "Elector" violate privacy and election secrecy, enabling voter pressure.

The coalition reacted with anger to Sohlberg's decision, claiming it severely hinders their ability to mobilize supporters on election day. They had considered advancing a law to bypass Sohlberg's ruling and re-authorize the use of reporting apps, but this plan was dropped when it became clear that opposition cooperation was necessary and unavailable.