Israeli Democracy Watch Petitions High Court to Cancel Election Data Transfer Rule

The Israeli Democracy Watch organization filed a petition with the High Court of Justice on Thursday, demanding the cancellation of a decision by Acting Director-General of the Central Elections Committee, Dean Livneh. The decision permits party representatives at polling stations to report the number of voters in real-time via mobile phones. The petitioners argue that this contradicts previous High Court rulings and Elections Committee decisions that prohibited the transfer of voter identity information through the 'Elector' application or any other means.

They contend that the directive creates a sense of surveillance among voters and undermines the ability to enforce the court's prohibition on reporting voter identities. The organization stated that on election day, it is impossible to station an inspector behind every polling committee member to monitor their every keystroke. They explained that while a clear rule against using phones in polling rooms to transmit data to party headquarters would be enforceable, allowing phone use for reporting voter counts while prohibiting the recording of additional data fundamentally damages enforceability.

The difficulty in enforcement stems from the fact that the decision allows party representatives to use the same digital tools that could be used to transmit identifying voter information. The petitioners claim that polling station secretaries and election integrity supervisors will be unable to distinguish between a representative reporting only the number of voters, as permitted, and someone transmitting prohibited personal details to their party.

This petition follows Livneh's announcement earlier on Thursday, in response to a query from the Likud party, that polling committee members and observers are allowed to report the number of citizens who have voted and those who have not yet voted to their parties, provided no personal voter information is transferred. Livneh wrote to the Likud representative, stating, "We accept your position that there is no impediment for a polling committee member or observer to count the actual voters, quantitatively only and without any additional information beyond the number of voters. The transfer of information will not include personal details of the voters." He clarified that this information could be transmitted via mobile phone.

Applications like 'Elector,' extensively used by Likud, Shas, and United Torah Judaism, enable party representatives at polling stations to report voter identities on election day, thereby identifying who has not yet voted. These apps are also used for get-out-the-vote efforts by documenting contact with potential voters and sending targeted messages. Their operation relies on processing personal information in digital databases, often managed by external vendors for the parties. In a previous ruling concerning the legality of these applications, the High Court determined that the Elections Committee lacked the legal authority to permit party representatives from transferring information about the identities of citizens who came to vote.