Israel's Supreme Court Blocks Parties from Tracking Voters at Polls

Israel's High Court of Justice unanimously overturned a decision by the Central Elections Committee that would have allowed party representatives at polling stations to report in real-time who had come to vote. The ruling, delivered on Thursday, effectively reinstates a ban on transferring such information to political parties.

The practice, which had been ongoing for years, involved party agents at polling stations notifying their parties about voters who had cast their ballots. This data was then cross-referenced with existing party databases to identify potential voters who had not yet voted, enabling targeted efforts to encourage them to do so via text messages, phone calls, or home visits.

Central Elections Committee Chairman, Justice Noam Sohlberg, had initially prohibited the practice, but the full committee later reversed this, permitting it under certain restrictions for upcoming elections. These restrictions included barring the recording of exact voting times and limiting the use of the data solely to voter encouragement.

However, the High Court, with Justices Yael Vilner, Alex Stein, and Khaled Kabub presiding, found the practice to be unlawful on two main grounds. Justice Vilner stated that party representatives at polling stations operate in a public capacity but lack specific legal authorization to transfer voter turnout information to their parties. Furthermore, the court determined that such data transfer infringes upon voters' right to privacy, deeming information about the exercise of voting rights as personal and highly sensitive.

The court rejected the argument that long-standing practice could substitute for legal authorization and dismissed claims of implied consent from voters, finding no evidentiary support. The ruling came in response to petitions filed by various individuals and organizations, including attorney Shahar Ben Meir, the Reservists Party, Yoaz Hendel, the "Voters in Israel" association, and the Movement for Quality of Government in Israel.