Election Day Q&A

Where do I vote?
Enter your ID number here.

What are the operating hours of the polling stations?
Polling stations are open from 7:00 a.m. to 22:00 p.m. In population centers with 350 residents or less, polling stations are open from 8:00 a.m. to 20:00 p.m.

^ Top of page

How do I collect free public transportation tickets?
By law, voters who are eligible for free public transport are those who are located at a distance of over 20 km. beyond the bounds of jurisdiction of the center of population where their polling station is registered.

^ Top of page

How does Israel’s electoral system work?
Israel’s electoral system is based on nation-wide proportional representation. Every citizen of Israel above the age of 18 has a right to cast one vote, by secret ballot, selecting a political party to represent him in the Knesset (parliament). The Knesset has 120 electoral seats. Thus, voters elect a party slate rather than a particular candidate. The percentage of total votes each party receives directly determines how many Knesset seats that party is awarded. The only limitation is the 2% qualifying threshold, by which a party must receive at least 2% of the vote to be elected.

Each individual party selects who will fill the Knesset seats according to the number of mandates it is awarded in the national election. Each party draws up a list of its Knesset candidates in order of priority. If, for example, a party wins 10 percent of the vote and earns 12 mandates, the first twelve party members on the list will obtain Knesset seats. Each party creates its Knesset list according to the party’s chosen method. Some elect representatives through party primaries, other choose via the party’s institutions, while in ultra-religious parties the representatives are often appointed by the party’s spiritual leader. If for any reason an MK withdraws during a Knesset term, the next person on that party’s list automatically replaces him.

^ Top of page

How does the voting process work?
Stages of voting:

1. Voters identify themselves to the polling committee by means of their identity card.
2. The polling committee finds the voter’s name on the list of voters and hands the voter an official, empty, opaque voting envelope.
3. The voter enters the polling booth alone, and therein finds voting slips for every list of candidates. He selects the slip of the list of candidates to whom he wishes to give his vote and places the slip inside the envelope provided to him.
4. If there is no slip available in the booth for the list to which the voter wishes to vote, he may write his vote on a blank slip available in the booth and place the handwritten slip into the official envelope.
5. The voter leaves the polling booth and inserts the envelope into the polling box in the presence of the polling committee.
6. Following his vote, members of the polling committee stamp the attachment to the voter’s identity card with a special stamp denoting that the voter has voted, in order to prevent double voting.

^ Top of page

When is a voting slip disqualified?

Non-disqualification of slips: If any single voting envelope inserted into the polling box is found to contain two voting slips of the same type, the two slips shall be counted as a single vote.

^ Top of page

How do I know if I’m eligible to vote?
In order to vote in the upcoming elections on March 28, 2006, for the Israel’s 17th parliament, you must be listed in the "voter’s book." You can check to see if you are on the list at the following phone numbers:

English: 1 800 200 175
Hebrew: 1 800 200 172
Fax: 03 929 8511

The phone lines are open 24 hours a day, but can only be reached from land lines (i.e., not mobile phones). The automatic system asks callers to punch in their nine-digit ID number (teudat zehut number), then provides the location and number of the caller’s voting poll.

In order to be eligible, a person must be 18 years old as of March 28, 2006, and an Israeli citizen as of February 2, 2006, i.e., registered with the Population Registry and residing in Israel. If for some reason you don’t appear on that list, you must inquire why at the Ministry of Interior.

^ Top of page

Text of Knesset Law:
The electoral system is based primarily on two laws: the Basic Law: the Knesset of 1958 and the Knesset Elections Law (combined version) of 1969.

For a history of the Knesset building click here.