Israelis go to the polls on Tuesday, October 27, to elect the 26th Knesset, Israel’s parliament. The system is very different from the American one. Israelis never vote for a prime minister, a local representative, or an individual candidate. They vote for a party, and the math that follows decides who governs.
One country, one district, one vote
Israel has no electoral districts. The whole country votes as a single constituency, and each voter casts one ballot for one party list. The 120 Knesset seats are assigned proportionally to each party, provided that the party meets the 3.25% electoral threshold.
Each party submits a ranked list of candidates before the election. If a party wins 10 seats, the top 10 names on its list enter the Knesset. Voters have no say over the order. Parties set their lists through primaries, as Likud did in August, or through the party leader’s choice.
Who votes, and where
All Israeli citizens 18 and older who are listed in the voter registry can vote. About 6.8 million Israelis are eligible this year. Every eligible resident is assigned to a particular polling station near their registered address and must vote there using an Israeli ID card, passport, or driver’s license.
In most locations, polling stations operate from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. In small communities, hospitals, and prisons, the hours are 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Election day is a legally mandated national holiday.
Israel has no absentee ballots for ordinary citizens living or traveling abroad. Only state envoys vote overseas. This year, 101 polling stations across 99 diplomatic missions served around 4,800 eligible voters. Soldiers vote early at their bases. Voting began October 21 at military polling stations on IDF bases and outposts. Votes in special polling stations, such as those for soldiers, are cast in double envelopes and counted at the Knesset.
The Israeli ballot is unlike anything in an American polling place. Behind a screen sits a tray of paper slips, called petakim (ballot slips), one stack for each party. Each slip carries the party’s name and its assigned Hebrew letters, known as otiyot. Many parties are known by their letters as much as by their names. The voter takes one slip, places it in an envelope, and drops the envelope into the ballot box. A voter can also write in a party’s letters on a blank slip.
This year, voters face a long tray. The Times of Israel counts 37 parties running for the Knesset‘s 120 seats.
The threshold: where votes disappear
A party needs 3.25% of valid votes to enter the Knesset, roughly equivalent to four seats. A party that falls short gets nothing. Votes cast for parties that fail to cross the threshold are discarded and not included in the distribution of seats.
