The Central Elections Committee on Tuesday approved the placement of polling stations in 159 old-age homes, after coalition lawmakers failed to renew a COVID-era provision that required special voting booths in retirement and assisted-living facilities.

The CEC made the statement in a Supreme Court filing on elderly citizens’ petitions on the matter.

Israel first erected polling stations in non-nursing old-age facilities in the 2021 Knesset election because of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, polling booths were set up in any old-age home housing at least 30 people. The measure was repeated in the most recent Knesset election, in late 2022, for old-age homes housing at least 75 people.

In July, the coalition declined to renew the COVID-era measure. The decision was expected to negatively affect opposition parties in the October 27 election.

Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee member Oded Forer — whose hawkish-secularist Yisrael Beytenu party was seen as especially likely to suffer from the polling booths’ removal — has said the repeal would affect between 35,000 and 37,000 people, or about one Knesset seat’s worth of votes.

Last week, the High Court heard petitioners’ oral arguments that the coalition’s decision not to renew the placement of voting booths at old-age homes would violate the voting rights of elderly citizens, many of whom suffer disabilities.

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, a former CEC head, expressed skepticism at the time,........

© The Times of Israel