IDF soldiers begin casting ballots

Two days ahead of the general election, IDF soldiers began voting Sunday at 668 military polling stations across the country.

The polling stations are to remain open through Wednesday at permanent bases in Israel and the West Bank, with roughly 165 mobile ballot boxes available to soldiers serving in field units, an army spokesperson said.

The specially set up stations will be operated by a polling committee made up of regular service soldiers. The double-enveloped ballots will be transferred to Jerusalem where they will be centrally checked and counted.

While soldiers and other security forces are the first in Israel to cast their ballots, diplomats and other government employees abroad have also voted ahead of Tuesday’s election day.

In the 2013 Knesset election, an army spokesperson said, 80 percent of active duty IDF soldiers exercised their right to vote.

Mitch Ginsburg contributed to this report