Early voting for Israel’s 26th Knesset began Wednesday at more than 850 military polling stations deployed across Israel Defense Forces bases and outposts — including in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria — as the country heads toward its October 27 national election.
About a quarter of the stations are fully mobile, travelling between units on predetermined schedules so soldiers in remote positions and active combat zones can cast ballots. Each mobile committee is accompanied by an armed officer, and ballot boxes remain locked in transit.
Democracy under fire
“Our mission is to enable all IDF service members to exercise their democratic right to vote by secret ballot, including during operational activities and combat beyond the border,” said IDF Elections Officer Col. Vered Ben-Yehuda. “The IDF is an apolitical people’s army that will do everything necessary to ensure that the elections are held as scheduled.”
Soldiers’ ballots — known as “double envelopes” — are counted later than civilian votes and have repeatedly swung the final picture in past elections, shocking the country on the morning after TV projections. With polls showing neither bloc near the 61 seats needed for a majority, the military vote could again prove decisive.
Diplomats began voting even earlier: about 4,800 diplomats and their families started casting ballots at 101 polling stations across 99 missions on October 15. The October 27 vote is Israel’s first national election since the Hamas-led massacre of October 7, 2023, and the multi-front war that followed — a contest already drawing intense international attention, including a public split between Trump and Vance over endorsing Netanyahu.
How military voting works
Ballots cast by soldiers are placed in sealed double envelopes and counted alongside civilian votes after verification, a system designed to guarantee the secrecy of the military vote. The Central Elections Committee said turnout among eligible soldiers in past elections has routinely exceeded 70 percent, making the military vote a closely watched bloc in tight races.
