Israeli Central Elections Committee to Publish Polling Station Turnout Data on Election Day

For the first time, Israel's Central Elections Committee will release voter turnout data by polling station throughout election day. The committee chairman, Judge Noam Solberg, announced that turnout rates for each regular polling station will be published at least four times during the day. This data will be equally accessible to all party lists, enabling them to encourage voter participation without revealing any individual voter identities. The information shared will be aggregate only, ensuring voter privacy and election integrity.

This decision follows Solberg's rejection of a Likud request to reconsider an earlier ruling that forbids polling station committee members and party observers from transmitting real-time information about who has voted. Solberg emphasized that voting details are private and election laws do not authorize party representatives to share such information for political purposes. This ruling impacted the use of the Elector app, previously employed by Likud and other parties to track which supporters had already voted and target voter mobilization efforts accordingly.

In response to calls from Knesset factions and other stakeholders to find practical ways to boost voter turnout while respecting privacy, Solberg reviewed submitted proposals and decided to increase transparency by publishing turnout data by polling station during election day. He clarified that this does not change election laws near the voting date but rather clarifies existing legal provisions under the Privacy Protection Law. He also noted that previous Central Elections Committee chairs had questioned the legality of sharing voter identity information, and parties should have prepared for the possibility that such practices would be prohibited, including through legislative measures to regulate the issue.