LONDON: Eurovision organizers are floating major rule changes that aim to prevent influence campaigns affecting voting, the BBC reported on Friday.
Voters can vote up to 10 times for their favorite act, according to existing rules. The European Broadcasting Union, in a letter to broadcasters, reportedly proposed moving to an online vote and forcing members of the public to select their top three acts.
This would move voters away from text messages, an existing voting option, and prevent people from being able to vote multiple times for one contestant. Politically motivated voting had become “persistent” and “deeply worrying,” the EBU said.
Rules governing the voting system have faced scrutiny since the Israeli government called on fans to vote multiple times for the country’s contestant last year.
“New Day Will Rise” by Yuval Raphael placed 15th with the contest’s juries yet outperformed all other entries in the public vote, scoring 297 points.
