Likud Dropped Digital Primary Voting After Cyber Warning of Foreign Interference
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Likud examined moving its Knesset slate primary to digital voting before the August 17 race, then kept the manual paper method after cyber officials warned that foreign actors could disrupt the results. The concern centered on possible Iranian attempts to interfere in the party's internal election. Party sources offered a second explanation, saying the paper system preserves the influence of the operatives who bring members to the polls. Turnout reached 75,177 voters, about 53 percent of roughly 140,000 eligible members, across 107 polling stations during an 11-hour voting day. The opposition Democrats party ran its own primary digitally by mobile phone and drew more than 97,000 voters.
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Difference in reporting
Sources factually disagree on who sought the switch to digital voting: Ynet reports that Likud itself examined and prepared the digital option before withdrawing it late in the process; Israel Hayom reports that Likud MKs pushed for digital voting and Netanyahu refused. The remaining facts are uniform: the manual paper method was retained, the stated reason was a cyber warning about foreign and specifically Iranian interference in the internal election, party sources also cited preserving the operatives' turnout power, 75,177 members voted, and the Democrats ran their primary digitally with more than 97,000 voters.
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