Likud Proposes New Voting Data Reporting Method to Protect Privacy in Upcoming Elections
Ahead of the upcoming 26th Knesset elections, the Likud party has introduced an alternative technological proposal to address the ban on using apps to document voter turnout, imposed by Central Elections Committee Chair Noam Solberg just two weeks before the vote. The ban, which prohibits real-time reporting of voter identities, was described by Likud as a "game changer" that severely hampers parties' ability to mobilize supporters on election day.
Likud's proposal distinguishes between "special polling stations," such as those in hospitals or double-envelope voting sites, where the party agrees to forgo any reporting, and "regular polling stations," where it suggests reporting voter turnout in fixed time intervals, for example every 15 minutes. This approach aims to prevent real-time tracking of individual voters, addressing privacy concerns highlighted by Solberg, while still enabling parties to monitor which supporters have yet to vote.
The party's legal arguments, submitted by attorney Ilan Bombach, emphasize that the Interior Ministry already provides parties with the voter registry containing names and addresses, and that reporting only confirms that a voter has cast a ballot at a public and visible location without revealing their political preference. Likud also proposed a second alternative involving a "privacy by design" system, ensuring that raw voter data would not be stored on servers, shared with third parties, and would be deleted immediately after election day.
These proposals come amid strong opposition from left-wing parties such as Yesh Atid, Labor, and Blue and White, as well as the government legal advisor, who seek to ban all such reporting. Likud warned that preventing parties from encouraging their voters could undermine the democratic process and distort the electoral balance at the last moment.
The debate reflects broader tensions between protecting voter privacy and enabling political parties to effectively mobilize their base during elections.
