Solberg says election delay in wartime could be justified

Yitzhak Amit? No, the article says Supreme Court Deputy President and Central Elections Committee chair Justice Noam Solberg told a closed Hebrew University event that Israel is quietly preparing for the possibility of postponing elections in a national emergency. He said that if a severe crisis makes free and accessible voting impossible, a limited, supervised and reasoned delay of the election date may be justified.

Solberg made the remarks while presenting a joint paper with Acting Director General of the Central Elections Committee, attorney Dean Livne, on how to run elections during extreme crises. He said the committee is discussing and drilling emergency scenarios behind the scenes, but stressed that any postponement must not become a tool for the government to extend its term.

He outlined six strict principles for any delay. The first is necessity, meaning the full burden of justification rests on whoever seeks the postponement, and a general national crisis is not enough unless it materially blocks free and equal elections. He also emphasized temporariness, requiring a specific new election date.

Solberg added that postponement must be a last resort, after all other options are exhausted, including early voting, mobile polling stations, and special arrangements for soldiers and evacuees. He said the decision must be fully transparent, with public factual and legal reasoning open to scrutiny. Near the end, he disclosed that the committee is already preparing for such scenarios, saying, "We think in the committee, and we practice, cases and responses, including elections in a time of emergency," while expressing hope Israel will never have to use those plans.