Israel Election Voter Data Privacy Rules and Regulations

Judge Noam Solberg, chairman of Israel's Central Elections Committee, rejected on Sunday a request by the Likud party to reconsider his recent decision banning party representatives at polling stations from transmitting real-time information about voter identities to their party headquarters.

In his ruling, Solberg clarified that the decision does not alter election law on the eve of voting, but rather interprets existing law and applies an explicit provision in Israel's Privacy Protection Law. The judge noted that in recent years, successive chairmen of the Central Elections Committee have raised doubts about the legality of the practice of transmitting information about voter identities. Accordingly, political parties should have prepared in advance for the possibility that the practice would be deemed prohibited, including by advancing legislation to regulate the issue.

Judge Solberg (Photo: Yonatan Sindel / Flash90)

At the same time, the Central Elections Committee chairman requested that Knesset factions and other parties involved in the proceedings propose practical methods to encourage voters to exercise their right to vote while maintaining the principles established in the ruling, particularly protecting voter privacy.

After reviewing the submitted proposals, and as part of the committee's commitment to full transparency, Solberg announced that on election day the Central Elections Committee will publish turnout rates for every regular polling station nationwide at least four times throughout the day. The data will be available equally to all party lists, enabling them to mobilize voters and increase turnout without exposing information about the identities of those who voted. The information will consist of aggregate data only, which does not allow identification of whether a specific individual voted, balancing the need to enable parties to encourage voter turnout with the obligation to protect Israeli citizens' privacy and maintain election integrity.