How Votes Translate to Knesset Seats and Election Thresholds Explained
Translated & summarized from Now 14 by baba
Israel's Knesset elections allocate 120 seats using an electoral threshold of 3.25% of valid votes and the Bader-Ofer method for surplus seats. Parties must secure 154,854 votes to pass the threshold, as seen when Meretz narrowly missed entry in 2022. The "measuring stick" for a seat was 36,228 votes in 2022, with remaining seats distributed via surplus agreements, crucial for smaller parties. Five surplus agreements have been signed for the upcoming elections.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Parties need 3.25% of valid votes, or 154,854 votes, to enter Israel's Knesset.
- The Bader-Ofer method allocates remaining seats, favoring larger parties like Likud.
- In 2022, 113 seats were allocated directly, with 7 distributed via surplus agreements.
- A "measuring stick" of 36,228 votes per seat was used in the 2022 elections.
- Five surplus vote agreements have been signed between parties for the current elections.
Israel's Knesset election system determines the allocation of 120 seats based on three main rules: the electoral threshold, the "measuring stick" for votes per seat, and surplus vote agreements. The electoral threshold, set at 3.25% of valid votes, means parties failing to reach this mark do not enter the Knesset, and their votes are not counted towards seat distribution. In the 2022 elections, this amounted to 154,854 valid votes, leaving the Meretz party, with 150,793 votes (3.16%), outside the Knesset for the first time.
After identifying parties that passed the threshold, the election committee calculates the "measuring stick", the number of votes required for one Knesset seat. This is done by dividing the total valid votes of qualifying parties by 120. In the previous election, this figure was 36,228 votes per seat. Each party's total votes are divided by this number, with the integer result representing the seats allocated in the first stage. In 2022, 113 seats were distributed this way.
The remaining seven seats were allocated using the Bader-Ofer method, named after Knesset members Yochanan Bader and Avraham Ofer. This method assesses how many votes each additional seat would cost a party, with the extra seat going to the party that would gain it at the lowest vote cost. This process continues until all 120 seats are assigned. The system slightly favors larger parties; in 2022, the Likud party secured two of the seven surplus seats, highlighting the importance of surplus vote agreements for smaller parties.
A surplus vote agreement is a pre-election pact between two lists to be treated as a single entity for surplus seat distribution. If together they qualify for an additional seat, it is awarded to one of them based on the Bader-Ofer method. Such agreements are only valid if both participating parties cross the electoral threshold. Ahead of the current elections, five such agreements were signed: Likud with Religious Zionism, Shas with United Torah Judaism, Yesh Atid and Yisrael Beiteinu, Yachad and Democrats, and Ra'am with the Joint List. Otzma Yehudit, HaMiluimnikim, and Amek Yisrael did not enter into any such agreements.
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