Election Committee Overturns Chairman's Ban on Real-Time Voter Data

Israel's Central Elections Committee plenum, holding a coalition majority, reversed a decision by its chairman, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, allowing political parties to receive real-time information from polling stations about voters who have already cast their ballots. The decision, passed by a 19-11 vote, permits the use of applications like "Elector" to transmit this data, subject to certain conditions. Specifically, information from special polling stations will not be shared, nor will the time of voting be disclosed. The data is to be used solely for voter encouragement and not shared with other entities.

This reversal follows a Supreme Court referral of the issue to the Elections Committee. Justice Sohlberg had previously banned parties from receiving such real-time data in August, citing privacy concerns raised by a petition. He ruled that polling station workers and observers could not report voter identities to parties via apps, deeming it a violation of the privacy protection law and noting that election laws do not explicitly authorize such data transfer for political activity. Sohlberg warned of potential criminal and civil sanctions for violations.

The Likud party, represented by attorney Ilan Bombach, had petitioned the Supreme Court against Sohlberg's ban, arguing it was an unprecedented "change of the rules mid-game" that harmed parties' reliance on such data, a practice used in previous elections. The Likud contended that Sohlberg's decision fundamentally altered long-standing practices during an ongoing election campaign.

Initially, the Supreme Court justices mediated a compromise where Sohlberg's ruling would be considered a legal opinion, with the full Elections Committee making the final decision. This agreement was formalized, and the committee was tasked with ruling by Monday afternoon. The Supreme Court scheduled a hearing for Wednesday, September 9, to address the petition as if a conditional order had been issued, given the urgency.

With the plenum's decision to allow the data transfer under restrictions, the Likud's position is strengthened ahead of the Supreme Court hearing. The ban is no longer the prevailing decision, and the committee's ruling favors the Likud's stance.