Israel Supreme Court dismisses expat voting petition

Israel’s Supreme Court has dismissed a petition filed by approximately 100 expatriate citizens seeking to vote in the upcoming October 27 elections. The petitioners had been excluded from the voter rolls due to a Ministry of the Interior classification known as ‘Code 51,’ which designates certain individuals as nonresidents.

The claimants argued they never requested to relinquish their residency status and questioned the legal criteria used for the classification. Some only became aware of the designation when checking their eligibility for the election. However, Justice Yechiel Kasher dismissed the case on procedural grounds, stating the petition was filed too late—only one week before the voter registry was to be finalized—and that the petitioners had not exhausted the available statutory appeals process.

The court also noted the petition lacked a detailed factual record regarding how each individual received the Code 51 designation. While the Ministry of the Interior maintained that the code is applied to those who explicitly inform officials of their departure, the petitioners disputed this account. This legal challenge occurs as tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad prepare to return to the country for its first national election since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, with initiatives like Fly&Vote organizing dedicated flights for voters.