Israel Votes After Four Years; Turnout Reaches 16.68%

A total of 12,018 polling stations are operational nationwide, staffed by approximately 100,000 employees. The Central Elections Committee reported that over 95% of stations had successfully opened on schedule, with only minor, localized delays. To encourage participation, election day was declared an official holiday, and free train and intercity bus travel was made available to voters.

Prominent figures who cast their ballots early in the day included President Yitzhak Herzog and his wife Michal in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot of the Yashar! party, who voted in Ofakim. Other political leaders, including Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, Aryeh Deri, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Bezalel Smotrich, were also scheduled to vote, with some right-wing figures expected to cast ballots in Judea and Samaria.

Most polling stations are scheduled to close at 10:00 PM, at which point television channels will release exit poll projections. The counting process is expected to be lengthy, with over 600,000 double envelopes to tabulate. Final official results from the Central Elections Committee are expected by November 4, after which President Herzog will consult with parties and task a Knesset member with forming a government by November 11.