Knesset Election Voting Begins Abroad with First Ballot Cast in New Zealand

Voting for the Knesset elections has commenced overseas, with Israeli diplomats and their families casting ballots 12 days before polling stations open in Israel. The first vote was cast by Alon Roth-Schnir, the Israeli Ambassador to New Zealand, at the embassy in Wellington. On the night of October 15, diplomats in Australia and Fiji also voted. The "diplomatic" voting process will conclude on the morning of Friday, October 16, with staff at Israeli missions in the United States casting their ballots. A total of over 4,800 diplomats and their family members are eligible to vote across 101 polling stations in 99 Israeli missions worldwide. New York will host the largest number of voters, while Kathmandu will have the fewest. All ballots will be sent back to Israel via diplomatic mail. President Isaac Herzog, currently visiting Azerbaijan, observed the voting process at the Israeli embassy in Baku, stating he had the opportunity to see the "start of the election campaign and how elections are conducted in practice at Israel's missions abroad." He urged all Israelis to "exercise their right to vote and, of course, influence the future of Israel." Voting abroad is restricted to official mission staff and their families.