An all-time record of 238,826 votes were cast in the World Zionist Congress elections this year, as electronic voting ended on Sunday, according to the American Zionist Movement, which administers the election for the “parliament of the Jewish people.”
Several thousand paper ballots have yet to arrive, but the total vote count so far has already eclipsed the previous mark of 210,957 in the 1987 election. The 2025 vote count is also more than 90% higher than the most recent election, which took place during the pandemic in 2020 and drew 123,575 votes, the American Zionist Movement said.
Two large questions loom. The first relates to the results, with 22 slates—or lists of candidates—vying for 152 seats allotted to U.S. groups in the 500-member congress. Seats are assigned based on a proportion of votes won, with the congress controlling policy decisions for major Zionist institutions, including allocating more than $1 billion in funding.
The American Zionist Movement anticipates preliminary results to be revealed “within the next several weeks.”
The second question is how many of the cast votes will actually count after they are scrutinized. This year’s election has been rocked by scandals, including suspicious voting patterns; investigative reports documenting covert and well-funded efforts to sway votes; and allegations of vote-buying outright.
“Amid reports of voting irregularities, the American Zionist Movement is continuing its investigation into those developments and will ensure that no improper votes are counted in the final results,” the movement stated.
It added that it “is committed to upholding the integrity of the election and to conducting a fair and transparent election process.”
Reports vary on the extent of the fraud and misdirection, with some estimating that 5% or more of the vote was cast under suspicious circumstances, implicating half a dozen slates. American Zionist Movement officials didn’t say if they are considering disqualifying entire slates if they are found to be complicit in cheating.
Voting was open to Jews at least 18 years old who identify as Zionist and live mainly in the United States. Some have questioned whether a vendor who supplied the online platform to record the votes put appropriate security infrastructure in place to detect fraudulent activity.
