Sohlberg Issues Interim Order Over UTJ Turnout-Tracking Allegations

Justice Noam Sohlberg, chairman of the Central Elections Committee, issued an interim order on October 27 following an urgent petition concerning United Torah Judaism's alleged election-day turnout reporting. He set a 14:15 deadline for the party to respond. The proceeding had not been finally decided in the account published that afternoon. The Movement for Quality Government said forms it obtained instructed party-appointed polling committee members to track which voters had cast ballots and record the time. The documents, titled "Turnout monitoring form," allegedly required representatives to relay voter numbers to Degel HaTorah's system. According to the petition, representatives were instructed to avoid digital tools inside polling stations, go outside and pass the figures by telephone. The movement argued that earlier High Court restrictions barred party polling committee members and observers from giving their parties real-time information about voter numbers. It cited an October 25 clarification extending the prohibition to every method of transferring information. In the petitioner's account, manual recording and telephone calls outside the polling room did not avoid the restriction and gave an advantage over parties following the instructions. Sohlberg also directed the movement to serve the petition and his decision on United Torah Judaism immediately. The reporting arrangements described in the petition remained allegations, rather than a final judicial finding that the party had violated the rules.