Early Voting by Israeli Diplomats Abroad Ends With Record Turnout, Up 17 Points From 2022 | Israel Politics Post
Early Voting by Israeli Diplomats Abroad Ends With Record Turnout, Up 17 Points From 2022
Nearly 87 percent of eligible envoys, diplomats and their families cast ballots across 101 polling stations worldwide, a sharp jump from 2022, as Israel remains one of the few democracies that bars remote voting for ordinary citizens abroad.
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By Israel Politics Post Staff·Published
Israeli Ambassador to Zambia Ofra Farhi casts her ballot at the embassy in Lusaka during early voting · Source: Foreign Ministry, via The Times of Israel
Early voting at Israeli embassies and consulates around the world wrapped up Friday with turnout well above the last national election, The Times of Israel reported. The Central Elections Commission said 86.7 percent of eligible voters, 4,218 people in all, cast ballots across 101 polling stations in 99 embassies and consulates, up sharply from 69.6 percent turnout in 2022.
Voting opened first in New Zealand and closed roughly 30 hours later on the US West Coast, following the sun around the globe before the ballots are flown back to Israel to be counted alongside the rest of the October 27 vote.
Only official envoys, diplomatic staff, military attaches and their immediate families are eligible to vote from abroad under Israeli law, which otherwise bars remote voting for citizens living overseas, a restriction few other democracies maintain. That gap has turned into its own campaign flashpoint: opposition groups have organized extensive efforts to help Israelis living abroad fly home in time to vote, with projections suggesting more than 50,000 will do so, while some government supporters have voiced concern that the hassle of travel could suppress turnout among their own core voters.
Early voting continues for another constituency on October 20, when roughly 850 polling stations open for soldiers, running through election day itself on bases in Israel and abroad.
