Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg on Sunday rejected a request from Likud to reconsider a ruling barring polling station representatives from providing political parties with real-time information identifying which voters have already cast their ballots.

Sohlberg ruled that parties will not be permitted to receive information revealing the identities of individual voters during Election Day, citing privacy protections under Israeli law.

The justice said the decision does not constitute a last-minute change to election rules, but rather clarifies existing law and enforces an explicit provision of Israel’s Privacy Protection Law. He noted that previous Central Elections Committee chairmen had already raised questions regarding the legality of transmitting voter-identification information to political parties.

At the same time, Sohlberg sought to preserve the ability of parties to encourage voter turnout without compromising individual privacy.

Following consultations with political factions and other parties involved in the proceedings, Sohlberg ruled that the Central Elections Committee will publish turnout figures for every regular polling station across Israel at least four times during Election Day.

The information will be made equally available to all political parties, allowing campaigns to identify areas with lower turnout and encourage voters to head to the polls without revealing whether any specific individual has already voted.

The Central Elections Committee said the arrangement is intended to balance the ability of political parties to boost voter participation with the need to protect voter privacy and the integrity of the election process.

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