Israel Begins Printing 450 Million Ballots for Upcoming Knesset Elections

The Central Elections Committee has commenced a large-scale operation to print approximately 450 million ballots for the upcoming 26th Knesset elections, with just 22 days remaining until election day. The printing process is underway at the Ordah factory in Kiryat Gat, operating around the clock, six days a week, to meet strict deadlines.

Central Elections Committee Chairman, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, and Acting Director-General Dean Livneh visited the factory to oversee the start of the operation. This unprecedented logistical undertaking will supply ballots for an estimated 7.3 million eligible voters across Israel. Each of the competing parties requires approximately 11.5 million ballots, which will then be sorted, packed into tens of thousands of boxes, and transported to polling stations.

Sohlberg stated that the ballots will be distributed to 12,018 polling stations nationwide. He emphasized that the committee has ordered enough ballots to cover the 7,336,553 eligible voters, plus an additional 30% as mandated by law, and even more to ensure full preparedness. "We hope this day will indeed be a successful election holiday," Sohlberg added.

The committee is also focusing on environmental aspects, with plans to recycle over 400 tons of paper and cardboard after the elections. Additionally, the use of traditional paper ballots was highlighted as a more secure physical safeguard against cyber threats. The committee is also engaged in discussions with major tech companies regarding election integrity.