Voter turnout at 66.7% as of 6 p.m., keeping up all-time record numbers

Voter turnout stood at 66.7% as of 6 p.m., according to the Central Elections Committee, up from 57.7% at the same time in the 2022 election.

It is the highest turnout at this hour in recorded history.

Dean Livne, acting director general of the Central Elections Committee, says that more than 4.8 million voters have cast their ballots so far.

He notes towns where turnout has been low so far, including the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, where just 26.3% of eligible voters cast their vote, and the nearby Alawite town of Ghajar, where 28.6% voted.

Livne also highlights towns with exceptionally high turnout as of 6 p.m., including Yuval in the Galilee with 91.5%, the settlement of Beit Hogla with 88.2%, and Hazon in northern Israel at 87%.

Turning to the absentee ballots from soldiers, prisoners, medical personnel, those with medical conditions, and Israeli representatives in missions abroad, Livne says that there could be delays due to the high turnout.

“Tomorrow we will begin [counting] the double envelopes. It is important to say already now that with such a high turnout, it may be that the number of double envelopes is higher than we anticipated,” he says.

“Therefore, the counting of the external envelopes may not end by Thursday night, and may extend until Friday morning. We will count them all,” Livne adds.