Election Committee Reverses Chair's Ban on Voter Turnout Data Sharing

The Central Elections Committee plenum on Sunday overturned a decision by its chairman, Justice Noam Sohlberg, that had prohibited party representatives at polling stations from sharing information about voters who had already cast their ballots. The plenum's ruling allows parties to continue tracking voter turnout on election day, identifying supporters who have not yet voted, and mobilizing them to cast their ballots.

This decision effectively reverses Sohlberg's August ruling, which classified voter turnout information as private and barred its transfer to party databases for political activity. Sohlberg had argued that party representatives accessing this information at polling stations lacked the authority to transmit it for political purposes.

The initial ruling sparked significant political and legal controversy, particularly from the Likud party and other coalition parties. They contended that Sohlberg's decision drastically altered a long-standing practice in previous elections and would hinder their ability to encourage supporters to vote.

The Likud had appealed Sohlberg's decision to the High Court of Justice. Last week, the High Court ruled that the matter should not be decided solely by the Elections Committee chairman and returned it to the plenum for deliberation and a final decision.

The plenum's final vote, which went against Sohlberg's stance, is particularly significant for parties with extensive field operations and large databases. These parties rely on cross-referencing voting data with supporter lists on election day to identify and mobilize undecided or non-voting supporters.