Israel's Supreme Court Bans Parties From Tracking Voter Turnout
Translated & summarized from NEWSru Israel by baba
Israel's Supreme Court has prohibited political parties from digitally tracking voter turnout at polling stations and sending the data to their headquarters. The court supported the view that attendance information is private, overturning a previous decision by the Central Election Committee. The Likud party opposed the ban, arguing it hinders efforts to mobilize voters. The ruling addresses the use of apps that report who has voted, not how they voted.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Israel's Supreme Court banned parties from digitally tracking voter turnout at polling stations.
- The court ruled that information on who has voted is private data.
- Judge David Mintz dissented, arguing the practice should be allowed.
- The Likud party opposed the ban, citing its importance for voter mobilization.
- The decision addresses the use of apps like 'Elector' for real-time turnout reporting.
Israel's Supreme Court (BAGATS) has ruled by a majority decision that representatives of political parties are prohibited from digitally tracking voter turnout at polling stations and transmitting this data to their parties. Judge David Mintz was the sole dissenter, believing the practice should be permitted.
The ruling addresses the use of applications, such as "Elector," by party activists to relay real-time information about who has voted from polling stations. The data concerns only the fact of a person's attendance, not their vote choice.
Previously, the head of the Central Election Committee, Noam Solberg, had banned these applications. Solberg argued that information about a person attending a polling station is private and that party representatives accessing this data at the polls are not permitted to share it with their party databases.
The Likud party strongly opposed this restriction, stating that parties with extensive activist networks and large databases use such information on election day to cross-reference voter lists with their supporters, identifying individuals who need to be contacted to encourage them to vote.
Although the Central Election Committee had initially rescinded Solberg's decision, the Supreme Court has now settled the dispute by upholding the head of the committee's stance.
