Israel Approves Special Voting Procedures for Soldiers Amid Security Threats Ahead of October Elections

The Central Elections Committee of Israel, led by Judge Noam Solberg and including committee CEO Attorney Din Livneh and party representatives, approved new regulations on Thursday to facilitate voting under current security conditions. These measures address voting procedures for IDF soldiers stationed in Lebanon, Syria, and the Gaza Strip, as well as protocols for suspending voting during missile attacks across Israel.

Since soldiers in enemy territory cannot carry ID cards, identification at polling stations will rely on their military dog tags and verification by another soldier. This process will be documented in the protocol and double envelopes will be used to maintain an additional layer of identity verification. In the event of sirens or missile fire on election day, voting will be temporarily halted. A supervisor will monitor the process via camera, and ballots outside the polling station will be secured in a special envelope. Only the polling station secretary or a Central Elections Committee employee, not party representatives, will close the polling station and transfer ballots to a protected area.

The committee aims to conduct voting in protected locations, especially near conflict zones, and will have access to relevant public buildings nationwide. If a polling station cannot be placed in a protected area, the special procedure will be implemented as needed.

Judge Solberg is also addressing election integrity issues. Likud representative Attorney Ilan Bombach requested clear guidelines on election offenses and bribery following allegations related to a project encouraging overseas voters to come to Israel. Ahead of the October 27 elections, the Shin Bet established a dedicated team to safeguard election integrity, coordinating with the Central Elections Committee, police, and regulatory bodies to preempt threats.

The Shin Bet identified three main threat categories: ideologically motivated attacks, threats against candidates, and foreign interference attempts via cyber means, social media, and bots. Security sources report increased efforts by hostile states including Iran, Russia, and China to influence Israeli discourse and deepen internal divisions before the elections.