Election Watchdogs Report 115 Instances of Illegal Voter Tracking

Israel's Election Watch, a civilian organization monitoring polling stations, reported on Tuesday that it received numerous complaints regarding attempts by ballot committee members or party representatives to tally voters, violating Central Election Committee regulations and Supreme Court rulings. The organization, which deploys approximately 20,000 observers, stated that 115 polling stations across 60 localities reported illegal voter tracking, with at least 50 cases identifying the trackers as Likud representatives. The tracking was reportedly conducted via applications like Elector and other methods.

Simultaneously, many polling stations nationwide experienced a shortage of Arabic ballot papers, and parties across the political spectrum complained about the removal or defacement of their ballots. The Supreme Court has ruled that election committee members and observers are prohibited from transmitting information about the number of voters who have actually cast their ballots to their parties.

In a separate incident, police arrested three residents of the Negev Bedouin diaspora overnight on suspicion of election bribery, finding them with envelopes containing cash and Ra'am party ballots. Ra'am stated these individuals were activists and condemned the arrests as an attempt to suppress Arab voter turnout, alleging political use of the police by Minister Ben Gvir.

Complaints about the lack of Arabic ballots also came from heads of local authorities, party representatives, and activists in cities including Nazareth, Jerusalem, Haifa, and others. Judge Gadi Tzafrir, Chairman of the Jezreel Regional Election Committee, acknowledged the complaints and stated the Central Election Committee is addressing the issue. Yosef Abu Gosh, a Joint List representative in Haifa, recounted an incident where a request to add Arabic ballots was denied, and his offer to provide his own was refused.

Ra'am filed a complaint with the Election Committee regarding missing or torn ballots, suspecting intentional damage. The Adalah organization also sent an urgent appeal, emphasizing that the absence of Arabic ballots infringes upon the equal and accessible right to vote for Arab citizens. Other parties, including Yesh Atid, Likud, and Haredi and secular parties, also reported ballot issues.

Furthermore, long queues and very slow voting processes were reported at polling stations in Bedouin communities in the Negev. Yael Ra'anan, part of the election integrity team in these areas, suggested the delays might be intentional, citing widespread occurrences and lengthy identity checks. Police presence, including riot police, was also noted at some polling stations in these communities.