Elected Official Criticizes Supreme Court Over Election Day Voter ID Ruling

Ilan Bombach, deputy chairman of the Central Elections Committee, sharply criticized a Supreme Court decision that overturned the committee's approval of using a system called 'Elector' to verify voter identity on election day. The court ruled that party representatives at polling stations cannot update their parties on who has voted.

Bombach argued that the Supreme Court's decision was "very strange" because the "Elector" system, or similar methods like applications and Form Aleph, had been accepted practice for decades. He cited the principle of not changing the rules mid-game, especially when parties, like the Likud, had relied on the previous ruling. Bombach suggested the court's reasoning about privacy concerns should have been balanced against the right to vote and ensuring maximum participation, noting that even the Attorney General initially supported rejecting the petition.

He questioned the timing of the ruling, which came in August during a Knesset recess, preventing immediate legislative action to address the court's concerns. Bombach pointed out that Supreme Court Justice Solberg himself suggested the issue be regulated by law, but the court's decision arrived too late for the current Knesset to act. Bombach believes the court should have ruled earlier if it had concerns.

When asked if the court would have ruled differently under a left-wing government, Bombach declined to speculate but reiterated his belief that the decision was unjustified and harmed voter reliance, particularly for the Likud. He also expressed his belief that a future judicial reform, which he sees as crucial for ensuring elected officials have real power beyond just the right to vote, will pass in the upcoming Knesset, expressing confidence in the Likud's ability to enact it.