Less than an hour before polling stations open across the country, Channel 14 correspondent Ornit Poran Swissa reported this morning (Tuesday) from the Central Elections Committee’s command and control center in the Knesset, where final preparations are being completed ahead of voting in the elections for the 26th Knesset.
2+Polls will open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 10:00 p.m. According to Central Elections Committee data, 7,331,981 eligible voters will be able to cast ballots at 12,018 polling stations deployed across the country. More than 100,000 workers have been mobilized for the operation, aimed at ensuring the proper functioning of election day and responding to malfunctions and suspected fraud or disruptions.
“The Knesset is bustling and noisy as if it were the middle of the day,” Poran Swissa described. According to her, media crews and workers began their day at 3:00 a.m., and preparations at the command center are at their peak: “Fateful elections—there’s an understanding of the significance. There’s a very large deployment here of Elections Committee workers.”
2+As part of the logistical operation, thousands of accessible polling stations will operate across the country, along with hundreds of military polling stations and dedicated stations in hospitals and prison service facilities. In addition, 102 polling stations have been set up at Israeli missions around the world.
Around 70,000 Israelis arrived in the country in recent days to exercise their right to vote. More than half a million new eligible voters will be able to participate today for the first time in Knesset elections.
2+The Elections Committee is also preparing for security scenarios and emergency situations, in cooperation with the police and the IDF. At 7:00 a.m., election day is expected to officially open at the command center, and at 10:50 a.m. the first turnout figure is expected to be released, which will be one of the key indicators throughout the day.