Israeli Parties Allowed to Contact Voters Who Haven't Cast Ballots

Israel's Central Election Commission has ruled that political parties can identify and contact voters who have not yet cast their ballots on election day. The decision, made during a plenary session on Sunday, allows party representatives at polling stations to transmit the identities of those who have voted to their headquarters. This enables parties to cross-reference this information with their own databases to pinpoint supporters who have not yet voted and encourage them to do so via phone calls or messages.

This ruling overturns an earlier decision by Commission President Judge Noam Solberg, who had stated in early August that knowing whether a person had voted was private information and could not be shared with political parties for mobilization purposes. The Likud party strongly opposed Solberg's decision, viewing it as a significant departure from past election practices, and appealed to the High Court of Justice.

Last week, the High Court determined that Solberg could not unilaterally decide such an important matter and sent the case back to the full Central Election Commission. The Commission reconvened on Sunday and ultimately rejected its president's stance, reinstating the practice of sharing voter turnout data with party headquarters.

The decision is particularly significant for major parties with extensive activist networks and detailed supporter databases. This real-time tracking of potential voter turnout allows them to focus their mobilization efforts on undecided or inactive supporters until polling stations close.