Central Elections Committee rejects request to extend voting hours

In depth

The Central Elections Committee considered a request, submitted by Likud and other parties following overcrowding and long waiting lines, to extend voting hours at polling stations beyond 22:00. According to Arutz 7, the Yesh Atid representative on the committee is expected to oppose the request. At the end of the discussion, the committee's presidium decided to reject the request, and polling stations will close at 22:00 as scheduled. According to Israel Hayom, committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg published the reasons for the decision, which passed by a 3-2 majority.

In its reasons, the committee wrote that "no explanation was provided as to why those who did not vote by 22:00 would do so if the deadline were extended to 23:00," and that anyone who arrives at a polling station a minute before it closes will be able to exercise their right to vote. According to Israel Hayom, Sohlberg made clear that a nationwide extension has no precedent in the state's history, and that lines and weather are not justified as exceptional circumstances. However, according to Israel Hayom, a localized extension was approved at a polling station in Hebron due to a malfunction.