Israel Election Official Bars Party From Reporting Voter Turnout Data

The Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg, issued an interim order Tuesday prohibiting the "Yahadut HaTorah" party from reporting voter turnout figures from polling stations. The order came in response to a petition filed by the Movement for Quality of Government in Israel, which argued that the party's instructions to its representatives at polling stations violated a High Court of Justice ruling.

According to the petition, "Yahadut HaTorah" representatives were given a form to track voter turnout, marking each voter and reporting the numbers to the party's "Degel HaTorah" system. They were instructed to leave the polling station to report this data by phone, avoiding digital means within the station.

The Movement for Quality of Government contended that this method of real-time reporting, even if done manually outside the polling station, circumvents the High Court's ban on providing such information to parties. They argued this gives "Yahadut HaTorah" an unfair advantage over other parties adhering to the regulations.

Judge Sohlberg ordered "Yahadut HaTorah" to respond to the petition by 2:15 PM on Tuesday and instructed the petitioner to immediately serve the party with the petition and the order. The case is ongoing, and the interim order remains in effect pending a final decision.