Voter fraud allegations in World Zionist Congress election spark call for disqualification of two slates

Six slates competing in the ongoing election for the World Zionist Congress in the United States are demanding election administrators disqualify two other slates following revelations of likely widespread voter fraud.

The demand is made in a letter sent Tuesday to the election committee of the American Zionist Movement, the organization that oversees the election. The six slates that signed the letter represent a range of political and religious viewpoints.

“The circumstances … are a huge embarrassment and a devastating blow which threatens the legitimacy of the elections,” the letter says, which was shared with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “The word that best applies here is ‘shanda’ — and at a moment when the entire Jewish world (and many others) are watching us.”

More than 123,000 votes for 21 slates have been cast halfway through the two-month voting period, according to the American Zionist Movement, which called the turnout “unprecedented.” (The tally is about equal to the total number cast in the last election, in 2020.) Voting takes place online through May 4, and any Jew primarily living in the United States who is over 18 and agrees to a set of Zionist principles can participate after paying a $5 registration fee.

The organization’s election committee notified slates in a letter on Monday that it is investigating suspicious patterns of voting involving some 2,000 ballots that were cast in support of two slates. The letter was leaked to eJewish Philanthropy, which reported on its contents on Tuesday.

Herbert Block, AZM’s executive director, says he can’t comment while the matter was under investigation.

“AZM is dedicated to ensuring a fair and transparent election and vigilant in identifying and stopping any fraudulent behavior,” he adds.