Israeli Soldiers Begin Voting in Knesset Elections Across 850 Polling Stations
Translated & summarized from Vesty by baba
Israeli soldiers began voting in the 26th Knesset elections on Wednesday, October 21, at 850 polling stations across army bases. Voting for military personnel continues until the general election on October 27, with special provisions for soldiers on active duty or abroad. The IDF ensures secret ballot access for all soldiers, utilizing a double-envelope system to maintain anonymity during the count.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- 850 polling stations opened for IDF soldiers to vote in the 26th Knesset elections starting October 21.
- Military voting will continue until the general election polls close on October 27.
- Mobile polling stations are available for soldiers on active combat duty.
- Colonel Vered Ben-Yehuda affirmed the IDF's commitment to ensuring secret ballot access for all soldiers.
- A double-envelope system is used at military polling stations to protect voter anonymity.
- Ballot boxes will be transferred to the Central Elections Committee for counting, separate from the IDF.
Israeli soldiers began casting their ballots for the 26th Knesset elections on Wednesday morning, October 21. A total of 850 polling stations have been established on army bases throughout the country. Approximately a quarter of these are mobile units, designed to facilitate voting for soldiers engaged in active combat missions. The voting period for military personnel will continue until the general election polls close on October 27, according to the IDF spokesperson's unit. Colonel Vered Ben-Yehuda, responsible for overseeing elections within the IDF, stated that the army is committed to ensuring every soldier can exercise their right to a secret ballot, even those operating outside of Israel. "Our task is to give all IDF soldiers the opportunity to exercise their democratic right to a secret vote, including during operational activities and combat operations abroad. The IDF is a people's army serving the state, and it will do everything necessary to ensure the elections proceed as scheduled," she emphasized. Soldiers have the option to vote at their registered civilian polling station or at any military polling station, though they are permitted to vote only once. Military polling stations utilize a double-envelope system. After marking their ballot behind a screen, soldiers place it in a blue envelope. This blue envelope is then placed inside a white envelope containing the voter's personal details. Once voting concludes, the sealed ballot boxes will be transported to the Central Elections Committee at the Knesset building. Specially trained regional election officers are responsible for the collection and security of these ballot boxes until they are handed over to the committee. During the vote count, the blue envelopes containing the ballots will be separated from the white envelopes with personal data, with the blue envelopes proceeding to the count and the white ones being destroyed. The opening of the ballot boxes and the counting of votes are conducted by the election commission, independent of the IDF.
