Elections chief issues directive: No filming inside polling stations

Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Hanan Melcer issues a directive prohibiting filming voters inside polling stations, “except in the case of a special incident” in which audio recording is also allowed.

The directive comes after police and ballot officials catch hundreds of Likud staffers and observers earlier in the day carrying hidden cameras into polling stations in Arab towns nationwide.

During the vote count at the end of the day, cameras will be permitted, so long as all those present at the station are informed and a note is made in the polling station’s minutes of the decision. Only the police or a representative of the Central Elections Committee chairman will be allowed to view materials caught on camera. It is prohibited to photograph voter lists or minutes that include voter information, Melcer says.

— Sue Surkes