Israeli Election Committee Bars Real-Time Voter Identity Reporting at Polls

Noam Solberg, chairman of Israel's Central Elections Committee, ruled that party representatives at polling stations are prohibited from sharing real-time information about who has voted. This decision stems from privacy laws protecting voter confidentiality, as transmitting data on voter identity, voting time, or polling station type violates the Privacy Protection Law. Solberg emphasized that election laws do not authorize party agents to relay such information for political purposes, and without explicit legal permission, sharing this data is forbidden.

The ruling followed a petition by attorney Shahar Ben Meir and the Tel Aviv University Privacy Protection Clinic, which argued that real-time updates via apps identifying voters could be used to pressure those who have not yet voted, infringing on privacy and ballot secrecy. While parties such as Likud, Shas, and United Torah Judaism opposed the ruling, most other factions did not formally respond.

Solberg noted that his decision interprets existing law and called for a reassessment of election and privacy regulations in light of technological advances. He clarified that parties may still use legally permitted voter registry information, which does not include actual voting data.

Minister Shlomo Karhi criticized the ruling, accusing Solberg of overstepping and harming parties' ability to mobilize voters, especially right-wing supporters outside organized campaigns. Karhi vowed to circumvent the decision by obtaining voter information through any available means, signaling ongoing political contention over election monitoring methods.