not everywhere· Politics· Updated 17:45

Israel Election Turnout Highest Since 1973, Approaching 45%

Israel experienced a historic voter turnout during the elections for the 26th Knesset on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, reaching levels not seen in decades. By 4:00 PM, national voter turnout reached 55.7%, representing over 4 million voters. This figure is 8.2 percentage points higher than the turnout at the same hour in the 2022 elections, marking the highest participation rate recorded at this stage since 1973.

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Israel Election Turnout Highest Since 1973, Approaching 45% — Illustration by baba

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What happened

01Voter turnout in Israel's 26th Knesset elections reached a historic 55.7% by 4:00 PM on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
02The 4:00 PM turnout represents an 8.2 percentage point increase from the 2022 elections and is the highest since 1973.
03Over 4 million of Israel's 7.3 million eligible voters had cast their ballots at 12,018 polling stations by 4:00 PM.
04High turnout was driven by Arab communities and center-left strongholds, while a slight decrease was noted in the ultra-Orthodox sector.
05Multiple parties, including "Yashar!", "Likud", and "Religious Zionism", reported ballot tampering, such as intentionally torn ballot edges.
06The Central Elections Committee installed 15,000 cameras to monitor polling stations and address the dozens of complaints received.
07Military turnout was also elevated, with 48% of eligible service members voting by 1:00 PM compared to 44.4% in 2022.
08Final election results, including the count of special ballots, are expected to be released by Thursday afternoon.

The surge in participation was observed early in the day, with turnout hitting 16.68% by 10:00 AM, 31.5% by noon, and 44.9% by 2:00 PM. Military personnel also showed high engagement, with 48% of eligible service members having voted by 1:00 PM, up from 44.4% in the previous election. The high volume of voters led to long queues and delays of 15 to 20 minutes at polling stations in cities like Ra'anana and Ramat Gan. Among major cities, Modi'in recorded the highest turnout, followed by Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tel Aviv.

Political analyst Amit Segal of Channel 12 noted that the high turnout was driven largely by the Arab public and left-center strongholds, alongside a smaller increase in Likud areas, while a slight decrease was observed in the ultra-Orthodox sector. Sociologist Shlomo Filber warned that the high engagement across all sectors could significantly alter the final seat distribution compared to pre-election polls, particularly affecting smaller parties struggling to cross the electoral threshold. Right-wing parties, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, expressed concern over the high participation in Arab and left-wing areas.

Amid the high engagement, the Central Elections Committee received dozens of complaints regarding potential ballot tampering. The "Yashar!" party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, as well as "Religious Zionism," "Likud," and "Yisrael Beiteinu," reported systematic attempts to damage or steal ballots, including the intentional tearing of ballot edges to invalidate votes. To monitor the process, the committee installed approximately 15,000 cameras at polling stations. Voting was scheduled to conclude at 10:00 PM, with final results expected by Thursday afternoon.

Summarized by baba from the reports of 14 newsrooms. Updated 17:32