Israel Begins Voting for 26th Knesset Amid Early Turnout and Reported Irregularities

Polling stations across Israel opened at 7 a.m. on Tuesday for the 26th Knesset election, offering voters a choice among 36 party lists. By 10 a.m., the Central Elections Committee reported that 16.7% of eligible voters had cast ballots, slightly higher than the same hour in the November 2022 election.

The vote is the first since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent wars. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led bloc faces a challenge from opposition parties, including the Yashar party led by former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, which has led recent opinion polls.

Several parties have lodged complaints about suspected irregularities at polling stations. Eisenkot’s Yashar party alleged that its ballot slips were missing, damaged, or improperly displayed. Similar concerns were raised by Yoaz Hendel’s Reservists-Economic Party and the Religious Zionism party. Amcha Yisrael and Yisrael Beitenu also reported issues, with Yisrael Beitenu noting a voter in Beersheba received a partially opened envelope containing a Likud ballot slip. The Central Elections Committee said these reports have not been independently verified and do not indicate a nationwide pattern.

The committee also dismissed a claim that Likud representatives were using an app to track voters, acknowledging only a single incident of unauthorized photography at a polling station in Moshav Yarhiv, which was halted after instructions were given. Separate disturbances were reported in Tiberias and Haifa, involving a physical altercation with a B’Yachad activist and harassment of a reporter.

Police announced the arrest of three men from Bedouin communities on suspicion of a scheme to pay voters for the Arab party Ra’am. Thousands of officers and volunteers have been deployed to polling stations to maintain order. Most stations will remain open until 10 p.m., with special locations operating until 8 p.m. Voters in line at closing time may still cast their ballots.

Exit polls will be released by television networks at 10 p.m., providing the first estimates of seat distribution in the 120-member Knesset. After voting ends, election committees will manually count paper ballots, reconcile totals, and forward results to the Central Elections Committee’s national tallying system. Double-envelope ballots from soldiers, police, hospitalized patients, prisoners and other voters will be processed centrally to verify single voting before counting.

Preliminary results are expected overnight, with final counts due by October 30 and official results slated for publication on November 4. President Isaac Herzog will consult elected parties before tasking a lawmaker with forming a government, as coalition negotiations may extend beyond the vote count.