Right-Wing Outrage as Election Committee Bans Reporting Voter Identities on Election Day

On Tuesday, the chairman of Israel's Central Elections Committee, Noam Solberg, ruled that party representatives and observers at polling stations are prohibited from reporting the identities of voters who have cast their ballots during election day. This decision sparked anger among right-wing coalition parties. Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi criticized Solberg, accusing him of treating the Elections Committee like a High Court arena and undermining parties' ability to mobilize voters, especially right-wing supporters not organized in Kaplan's headquarters. Karhi vowed, "We will obtain the information by any means available to us."

Solberg's ruling, issued following a petition by attorney Shahar Ben Meir and the Tel Aviv University Privacy Protection Clinic, stated that sharing information about voting occurrences, including time and polling station type, violates privacy laws under the Privacy Protection Act. The ruling emphasized that election laws do not authorize party representatives to use such information for party activities. The petition argued that the existing practice of real-time updates via apps about who has voted enables parties to pressure and encourage voters who have not yet arrived, infringing on voter privacy and ballot secrecy.

During the committee hearing, the Likud, Shas, and United Torah Judaism parties argued that the practice did not breach the law, with Religious Zionism siding with Likud. Other Knesset factions declined to take a position. Solberg rejected the parties' arguments, affirming that information about voting is private and that party representatives receive it solely to ensure election integrity. Using this data to identify and mobilize non-voters contradicts the purpose of the information and is therefore prohibited under privacy law.

The ruling marks a significant change in election day procedures, limiting parties' access to voter turnout data and potentially affecting campaign strategies. The right-wing parties have expressed intent to circumvent the ruling to maintain their voter mobilization efforts.