Election Committee Receives 10,000 Reports on Voting Irregularities

Israel's Central Elections Committee received approximately 10,000 reports concerning potential violations of election integrity during the 26th Knesset elections. The committee's election purity system, operational from the opening to the closing of polling stations nationwide, processed all reported incidents, which were subsequently closed after investigation.

Among the reports, about 1,000, or 10%, dealt with the defacement of ballots. The committee's presidency issued a directive stating that damaged ballots would not be automatically disqualified. This guidance noted that minor flaws like small holes, smudges, or scribbles not appearing to be made by the voter, as well as printing defects, would not necessarily lead to disqualification, provided the intended list could be clearly identified. However, ballots that could potentially identify the voter would be set aside for later examination.

Separately, several ministers and Knesset members sent a letter to the Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg, and the Head of the Shin Bet, David Zinai, demanding an urgent investigation into the Ra'am party. They suspect election bribery, prompted by the arrest of three Negev residents associated with the party who were allegedly found with envelopes containing tens of thousands of shekels in cash.

The most frequent reports, accounting for about 22% of all inquiries, concerned photography inside polling stations, which is prohibited to protect ballot secrecy. Another 13% of reports involved suspected interference with voting.