Jerusalem, 27 October, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Central Elections Committee is preparing for up to 650,000 double-envelope ballots in the 26th Knesset election, an unprecedented number in the country’s electoral history.
The figure represents an increase of approximately 44% over the 463,000 double-envelope votes cast in the 2022 election.
Eligible voters include active-duty and reserve soldiers, evacuees, hospitalized patients, prisoners, Israeli diplomats serving abroad, and people with disabilities who require accessible polling arrangements.
The sharp increase is attributed primarily to the prolonged military service of Israel’s security forces during the war, alongside the displacement of residents from their homes.
Double-envelope voting allows eligible citizens who cannot vote at their assigned polling station to cast ballots elsewhere while preserving ballot secrecy and preventing multiple voting.
The ballots undergo additional verification to ensure each voter casts only one valid vote. The result is that although counting the regular ballots may conclude on Wednesday, counting the double envelopes may last well into Thursday.