Likud, Smotrich to station 2,000 activists at Arab polling stations on election day, citing unsubstantiated concerns of fraud

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism say they will deploy nearly 2,000 activists as observers at hundreds of polling stations in Arab communities on election day, saying the move is intended to prevent unsubstantiated concerns over fraud in voting and vote counting.

The parties’ statement cites “a long series of fraud incidents in previous election campaigns” and says activists will be assigned based on a mapping of fraud risk. They will also be trained to respond to violations of voting procedures and irregularities in the count.

There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Israel. Central Elections Committee Director-General Din Livneh flatly rejected claims of widespread voter fraud in June, when Likud lawmakers proposed installing cameras at polling stations. “There is no fraud in Israel. If it exists, it is on the margins,” he said, adding that existing safeguards were sufficient.

Likud has repeatedly made Arab turnout an election issue. In 2015, Netanyahu warned that Arab voters were “heading to the polls in droves.” In 2019, the party deployed cameras at polling stations in Arab communities, in a move that critics said was intended to suppress turnout and intimidate voters.

The latest campaign comes as the Likud-led bloc has no clear path to a governing majority, making Arab turnout potentially pivotal. The Joint List and Ra’am, which have signed a surplus-vote agreement, are projected in recent polls to win around 14 seats combined. Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen has said the party is prepared to provide a conditional “safety net” to an anti-Netanyahu coalition seeking to replace the prime minister.