Early voting for the 26th Knesset began on Wednesday at military polling stations on Israel Defense Forces bases and outposts across all operational arenas, including the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria.
More than 850 polling stations, many of them mobile, have been deployed, according to the IDF.
“Our mission is to enable all IDF service members to exercise their democratic right to vote by secret ballot, including during operational activities and combat beyond the border. The IDF is an apolitical people’s army that will do everything necessary to ensure that the elections are held as scheduled,” said IDF Elections Officer Col. Vered Ben-Yehuda.
Voting will continue until polling stations close on Election Day, Oct. 27, subject to operational requirements.
Regular-duty soldiers and active-duty reservists may vote at either military or civilian polling stations, with a double-envelope system used to verify eligibility and prevent double voting, an Israeli military official told JNS last week.
Hundreds of election officers and about 3,000 soldiers trained as polling committee members will administer the voting, with each station run by a four-member committee, the official added.
Israelis are heading to the polls to elect the 120 members of the 26th Knesset in the country’s first national election since the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, and the multi-front war that followed.
Israel has strict rules on early voting. Military personnel and diplomats are the exception. Approximately 4,800 diplomats as well as their families started early voting on Oct. 15. Employees of diplomatic missions, government ministry emissaries and various attachés serving the state overseas, including family members, were also eligible.
“I call on all Israeli citizens to exercise their democratic right and, in a week and a half, to go to the polling stations and vote. This is a great privilege, and it is also our collective responsibility to shape the future of the State of Israel,” said Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday.
