Israel's Top Court Blocks Parties From Tracking Non-Voters

Israel's Supreme Court, known as the High Court of Justice (Bagatz), ruled on Thursday, September 17, that political parties will be prohibited from using the "Elector" application or any other method to track citizens' voting participation in the upcoming October 27 parliamentary elections. The decision overturned a prior resolution by the Central Elections Committee. The court's ruling, primarily authored by Justice Yael Willner and supported by Justices Alex Stein and Khaled Kabub, stated that such tracking practices violate privacy rights and lack legal basis.

The "Elector" app allowed parties to identify potential voters who had not yet cast their ballots, enabling them to contact these individuals and encourage them to vote. This information was often gathered from polling stations. Justice Willner explained that the practice is illegal for several reasons: the law does not grant parties the authority to collect and use such data, and disclosing whether a person has voted infringes on their right to privacy, specifically violating the prohibition in Article 2, Paragraph 9 of the Privacy Protection Law.

The Supreme Court also determined that the Central Elections Committee is not authorized to permit party representatives at polling stations to engage in such tracking without explicit legal grounds. The committee had initially approved the use of the "Elector" app earlier that week, with 19 members voting in favor and 11 against, following a proposal by Likud party attorney Ilan Bombach. However, opponents were granted the right to appeal to the Supreme Court.

During the hearings, attorney Bombach argued that prohibiting the app's use would be a "terror attack" against the Likud party, causing significant damage. He noted that the Knesset could not convene to pass new legislation to permit the practice. Justice Kabub questioned why other parties, like Shas, did not join Likud's opposition, to which Bombach responded that Likud had invested heavily in the Elector system over many years.

Following the ruling, Justice Minister Yariv Levin called the decision politically motivated, linking it to the ongoing debate over judicial reform and judicial appointments. He accused the judges of attempting to influence election results and change the rules mid-game. The Religious Zionism party also criticized the ruling, asserting it was designed to hinder right-wing parties' ability to mobilize voters.