From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
IDF says voter turnout among troops reached 79.9%, an increase of 6.2% compared to 2022
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The final voter turnout among IDF soldiers reached 79.9%, the military says.
The IDF says this is an increase of 6.2% compared to the previous election in 2022.
Conscripts, career soldiers, and reservists began voting a week ago at over 890 polling stations deployed to military bases across the country and beyond Israel’s borders, including at army posts in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Syria.
The ballots closed at 10 p.m. last night, when voting ended in the rest of the country.
The actual number of votes from soldiers is not released by the military, due to security concerns.
The soldiers’ votes will be counted among other absentee ballots starting this evening, according to the Central Elections Committee.
The so-called double envelopes also include votes from prisoners, medical personnel, those with medical conditions, and Israeli representatives in missions abroad.
Acting CEC director Dean Livne said that because of the overall high turnout, there could be more absentee ballots that they initially anticipated, leading to delays in completing the counting.
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