Israel's Supreme Court Questions Election Data Transfer Rules

Israel's Supreme Court heard a petition Wednesday challenging a decision that allows party representatives to use mobile phones to transmit real-time voting data from polling stations. The court's interim ruling permits parties to transfer numerical voting data without identifying details, but it demands explanations for why the permission should not be revoked.

Justice Khaled Kabub expressed concern that the recent approval, granted by Acting Director-General Dean Livneh, "makes a mockery" of an earlier decision by Election Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg and a Supreme Court ruling. The September ruling had prohibited the transfer of identifying voter information from polling stations to parties, citing that representatives have a public role and are not legally authorized to use such information for party purposes. The court had also stipulated that the Election Committee itself would publish voter turnout data at least four times on election day.

However, Livneh recently approved a request from Likud's representative, Ilan Bombach, to allow party representatives to count voters and transmit this data digitally. Livneh stated that counting voters quantitatively, without additional information, posed no objection. The petitioners, represented by attorney Yuval Yoaz, argued that this new permission undermines the previous arrangement and was granted without a proper hearing of all parties' positions.

During the hearing, justices questioned the necessity of real-time reporting. Justice Ruth Ronen doubted the claim that such reports are needed to identify voting disruptions, suggesting that authorities or police could be contacted instead. Justice Kabub criticized the change, noting that the acting director-general's decision allowed for potentially thousands of daily updates on voter turnout, contrasting with the chairman's earlier proposal for limited updates.

Concerns were also raised about potential advantages for larger parties with more representatives at polling stations. A separate report highlighted that the 'Nitzachon 26' app, developed by Elector for the Likud, requests extensive permissions, including microphone and camera access, despite the company's denial of any eavesdropping capabilities. A former Likud IT official warned that identifying voter information could be circumvented through such apps or even WhatsApp messages, potentially linking voters to specific times and polling station representatives.