With the investigation into allegations of voter fraud in this year’s World Zionist Congress  ongoing, several slates are calling for the American Zionist Movement to take further action to secure the election, urging in a letter that the two slates suspected of involvement be disqualified. 

The letter, obtained by eJewishPhilanthropy, was written and signed by the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA), Mercaz, Dorshei Torah V’Tzion, Kol Israel and AID Coalition, as well as Israel Shelanu, New Jewish Narrative and Partners for a Progressive Israel on behalf of Hatikvah. According to Sarrae Crane, a representative of Mercaz, the American Conservative/Masorti Movement’s slate, a number of other slates expressed that the offending slates should be disqualified, but were not prepared to sign on to all of the provisions and language outlined in the letter. 

In addition to disqualifying the slates suspected of fraud, the groups are calling for further investigation into all votes made with prepaid debit cards and for votes cast for disqualified slates to be considered void; those voters, they say, should be prohibited from voting again. 

“Without the broader disqualifications, the lesson is that fraud is a low-risk tactic, with few consequences if caught. This message is inconsistent with our need to have an honest 2025 election conducted with integrity,” the letter said.

ANU (A New Union) also sent its own letter to the AZM calling for election accountability and the dismissal of the slates involved. 

“We think this calls for the immediate disqualification of the two slates involved. There’s no other measure that ensures the integrity of the election. This cannot be a slap on the wrist. This can’t be an, ‘Oh, OK, so we’ll throw out those votes,’” Roei Eisenberg, ANU’s executive director, told eJP.  “No, you try to cheat in an election? You shouldn’t be in it anymore, from our point of view.”

According to Eisenberg, several members of his slate have been fielding mounting voter concerns; the $5 cost to vote, coupled with uncertainty about the election’s security measures, they say, have decreased buy-in. The possibility of perceived issues with the election driving voters away worries him, he said, because voter engagement is required to develop oversight.

“The more people feel like this is a corrupt election, this election is rigged, the less we’re able to persuade them to vote, not just for us, but just to vote at all,” said Eisenberg. “The only way to fix a corrupt institution is to vote for the people who aren’t corrupt.”

The investigation into suspected voter fraud started on Monday after Votem, the for-profit firm administering the election, and the Area Election Committee, which oversees the voting, ??detected some 2,000 votes — around 2% of votes cast in the election thus far — that were linked to suspicious emails and prepaid credit cards, with many of them also tied to the same physical addresses, mainly yeshivas.

“I’m very glad that it was flagged by the company that’s running the elections, Votem. That’s critically important,” said Rabbi Josh Weinberg, a representative of ARZA. “And it’s really important that we follow the rules of the elections and make sure that all of our leaders and all of our voters do as well.” 

With Passover approaching, the investigation remains ongoing. 

“We have no comment while we continue to investigate this matter. AZM is dedicated to ensuring a fair and transparent election and vigilant in identifying and stopping any fraudulent behavior. We are committed to completing a comprehensive investigation and effectively resolving the current issue,” Herbert Block, the American Zionist Movement’s executive director, told eJP on Wednesday. 

According to Crane, the rules the slates designed and agreed upon prior to the elections included provisions to accommodate any religious needs that might come into play during the voting process. That included the possibility that some voters might not have email addresses, and some might not be able to pay with credit or debit cards. According to the rules, voters who need to can vote using paper ballots and pay for their vote by check, Crane told eJP.  

“We worked long and hard and we fought out the rules, and in the end, we all agreed to follow them,” Crane said. “That’s the criteria for participating in the election: you follow the rules. We’re determined to make sure that those rules are enforced no matter what the results at the end of the day.”

According to Rabbi Jason Herman, a representative of Dorshei Torah v’Tzion, which also signed onto the letter, issues with conduct and infractions in this year’s election have worsened since the last election in 2020. Herman thinks a misunderstanding of the congress’ role has contributed to the issue. 

“When you see it ultimately as an ATM machine, then the incentive for fraud and malfeasance goes up,” he told eJP. “I think in a lot of ways, people have lost the plot about what this is supposed to be about.”