Voter Turnout Surges in Israeli Elections, Exceeding Previous Polls

By 4:00 PM, turnout had already reached 55.7%, representing 4,085,075 voters. This was an 8.2 percentage point increase compared to the 47.5% recorded at the same hour in the 2022 elections. By 6:00 PM, the total number of voters reached 4,892,186 out of 7,331,981 eligible voters, which is a 15.6% rise in the absolute number of participants. Acting Director-General of the Central Elections Committee, Dean Livne, noted that the number of voters by 6:00 PM had already surpassed the total number of voters by 10:00 PM on election night in the last election.

The high turnout was driven in part by a significant surge in participation within Arab communities. Arab sector turnout reached 10.9% by mid-morning, with cities like Rahat reporting around 14% turnout in the morning and long queues observed in Umm al-Fahm, Nazareth, Sakhnin, and Tayibe. Analysts project that final turnout in the Arab community could reach 68% to 69%, compared to 53% in 2022 and 45% in 2021. This increased participation is expected to raise the electoral threshold and impact the distribution of Knesset seats.

Due to the exceptionally high turnout and significant queues at polling stations, which were scheduled to close at 10:00 PM, the Central Elections Committee announced it was considering extending voting hours. Prime Minister Netanyahu urged all voters to participate, emphasizing the nation's future.