Towards the upcoming elections: The precedent-setting decision of the Elections Committee Chairman
Party representatives at polling stations will not be able to share information about the identity of voters who have arrived to exercise their right to vote. Judge Noam Sohlberg ruled that the measure constitutes an infringement on privacy. However, factions will be allowed to continue using voter registry data to communicate with the public.
The Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg, ruled today (Tuesday) that members of polling station committees and party observers are prohibited from reporting during election day on the identity of voters who have arrived to exercise their right to vote. The decision prohibits the use of applications designed to track voting data in real-time in order to incentivize voters who have not yet arrived at the polling station.
According to Judge Sohlberg's ruling, the transfer of information regarding the act of voting and its circumstances — such as the time of voting or the type of polling station — constitutes an infringement on voter privacy and is not permitted under the Privacy Protection Law. Sohlberg emphasized that election laws do not authorize faction representatives to transfer information to which they were exposed solely for the purpose of fulfilling their official duties at the polling station, and in the absence of explicit legal authorization, its use for party purposes is strictly prohibited.
The decision was made following an appeal by attorney Shahar Ben-Meir, which was joined by the Privacy Protection Clinic at Tel Aviv University. The appeal argued that the use of applications that update who has exercised their right to vote harms the secrecy of the elections and the right to privacy.
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On the other hand, the Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism, and Religious Zionism factions argued in their responses that the practice does not constitute a violation of the law, while the other factions chose not to express a position on the merits of the matter.
At the end of his remarks, the committee chairman clarified that the ruling reflects only the existing legal situation and called for a comprehensive examination of the relationship between election laws and privacy protection laws, especially in light of technological developments in recent years. Alongside this, it was clarified that parties will be able to continue to legally use voter registry data for the purpose of communicating with the public, as long as it does not include information about the actual voting.
