Full coverage· Politics· Updated 20:50

Election Officials Lower "Double Envelope" Count, May Shift Mandates

The Central Elections Committee has revised its estimate for the number of double envelopes to be counted in the election, lowering the expected total to between 430,000 and 480,000. This is a reduction from earlier projections, which ranged from 600,000 to 650,000 envelopes. The revised figure represents a quantity equivalent to eight parliamentary seats and could influence the distribution of a few mandates, though Cursorinfo reported it is unlikely to alter the overall majority outcome.

4 newsrooms · 2 languages · since 16:17

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Election Officials Lower "Double Envelope" Count, May Shift Mandates — Illustration by baba

What happened

01The Central Elections Committee lowered its estimate of double envelopes to between 430,000 and 480,000, down from initial projections of up to 650,000.
02The revised double envelope count is equivalent to eight parliamentary seats and could shift the distribution of a few mandates.
03Double envelopes contain ballots from voters outside their registered precincts, including soldiers, diplomats, hospital patients, and displaced residents.
04The counting of the double envelopes is scheduled to begin at the Knesset parking lot around 1:00 AM on Thursday.
05Final election results are expected to be announced on Thursday evening after the vote tally is completed.
06The counting process will be broadcast live on YouTube and shared directly with news systems.
07Voter turnout is expected to exceed the 70.6% recorded in 2022, despite a potential downward adjustment from the initial 77.7% estimate.

Double envelopes contain ballots from individuals voting outside their registered precincts, including soldiers, reservists, hospital patients, prisoners, diplomats, and residents displaced by the war. The process involves scanning and verifying identification details before separating the inner voting envelopes from the outer ones to maintain voter anonymity. The envelopes are then transferred to the counting area at the Knesset parking lot.

Following the completion of the scanning process, the vote counting is scheduled to commence around 1:00 AM on Thursday and is expected to conclude by Thursday evening, when the final election results will be announced. The counting process will be broadcast live on YouTube and news feeds, with updates posted on the committee's website. Preliminary voter turnout is expected to be higher than the 70.6% recorded in 2022, though it may be adjusted downward from the initial 77.7% projection.

Summarized by baba from the reports of 4 newsrooms. Updated 21:26

Latest report: Cursorinfo. Read Cursorinfo’s original