Election Committee Denies Widespread Ballot Tampering Claims
Translated & summarized from Kikar HaShabbat by baba
Israel's Central Elections Committee has denied widespread claims of systematic ballot tampering during the 26th Knesset elections, stating that only isolated incidents are being investigated. The committee urged the public to rely on official sources amidst ongoing voting. The election involves 7.3 million voters at 12,000 polling stations, monitored by thousands of cameras and personnel. The committee printed 450 million ballots for the election.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Central Elections Committee denies widespread systematic ballot tampering during elections.
- Isolated incidents of ballot issues are being investigated, committee says.
- Several parties, including ultra-Orthodox and left-wing groups, alleged tampering.
- Over 7.3 million Israelis are voting in the 26th Knesset elections.
- The election process is monitored by 15,000 cameras and 100,000 workers.
Israel's Central Elections Committee issued a statement Tuesday refuting social media reports of systematic ballot tampering across the country during the 26th Knesset elections. The committee stated that while isolated incidents are being investigated, there is no indication of a widespread, organized effort to deface or destroy ballots for specific parties. Several parties, including the ultra-Orthodox party of Leitner and some left-wing parties, had alleged that their ballots were being tampered with.
The committee emphasized that any reported incident is being handled immediately and urged the public to rely solely on official announcements from the committee. The clarification comes amidst the ongoing election day, with 7.3 million eligible voters heading to approximately 12,000 polling stations nationwide. The election process is monitored by an extensive system including around 15,000 cameras and a central control center.
In recent days, social media had seen scattered reports of damaged or missing ballots. One incident involved a left-wing activist suggesting adding "B'ezrat Hashem" (with God's help) to ballots, a move that could invalidate them according to election committee regulations. The committee printed 450 million ballots for the elections, with 11.5 million allocated per party list, distributed across 18,000 ballot boxes nationwide by an estimated 100,000 election workers.
Police Commissioner Danny Levi issued a directive ensuring no police officer expresses political opinions while on duty. The committee reiterated its commitment to overseeing the election process and addressing all reports, while again advising the public to avoid spreading rumors and to stick to official information channels.
