Israeli Politics25 October, 20263 min read
Netanyahu's Likud Sends Teams To Document Arab Voters, Preparing Rigged Election Fraud Claims
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Likud to deploy workers to document Arab voters outside polling stations Footage could be used as false evidence for a rigged-election conspiracy
Likud plans outside filming
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud will send workers to document Israeli Arab voters on Election Day, and the party may use the footage as false evidence for a conspiracy theory that the election was rigged. Haaretz reports that Likud set up unofficial teams to "observe" voters in Arab communities, with the teams designated to stand outside polling stations, document voters, and report back to headquarters in real time. Likud officials are also preparing a postelection campaign centering on voter fraud if Likud suffers major losses, and a source close to Netanyahu says Likud members discussed scenarios of major election losses.
A Likud source described a method for checking identity by comparing appearances, saying, "Suppose a woman comes to vote wearing a burqa" and then another woman arrives wearing a burqa. Haaretz adds that the teams have no legal authority to verify voters' identities, and Likud sources say it is not unlikely that the videos will be distributed as false evidence that the election was rigged.
Rights groups seek court limits
Civil and legal rights organizations filed legal motions to protect the integrity of the ballot and ensure the poll is free and fair, with the moves coming after Likud and the Religious Zionist party announced they will send some 2,000 activists to polling stations in Arab towns and cities. The Adalah legal rights organization petitioned the High Court of Justice to ban polling station officials from bearing firearms on site, arguing that armed polling station officials "will not only deter voters from the Arab community but could also create a serious risk". The Israel Education Watch organization petitioned the Central Election Committee against Religious Zionism, pointing out that students at publicly funded yeshivas whose leadership is supportive of the party may be among the activists used by the party on election day.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel announced it would operate an election integrity hotline to report violations of the elections law to authorities as they happen. Central Elections Committee Director-General Dean Livne said there is no evidence of widespread fraud in Israeli elections and that existing safeguards were sufficient, while Likud and Religious Zionism have not explained how they determined that Arab polling stations were at risk of fraud.
Law, enforcement, and intimidation
The Election Law prohibits election campaigning inside the grounds of a polling station building and from five to 10 meters from the boundaries of the polling station, depending on whether it has a fence or not. The law also bans “interfering with the proper conduct of the elections” and “interfering with a voter when voting, or stopping them from voting,” and it applies inside or outside a polling station. Guy Lurie, a research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, said that if activists interfere with people going to the polling station or intimidate them, it is a criminal offense, adding, "Police readiness is what is important here to ensure that anyone who wants to vote can do so without intimidation and interference."
Lurie said that activists merely being present outside polling stations was not illegal in and of itself, but he warned the move could create "a dangerous situation where people think they can take the law into their hands." The article says the polling station committee and its secretary are responsible for preventing election campaigning inside polling stations, while regional election committees must keep in constant contact with the police to ensure election laws are upheld.