With 200k new voters, 6.2 million eligible to cast ballots in November 1 election

Some 6.2 million Israelis are eligible to vote in next week’s election, an increase of 196,000 since last year’s vote, according to Central Bureau of Statistics figures released Thursday.

The number of voters living in Israel has risen by 3.3 percent since the March 2021 election, the CBS said in a statement.

Of eligible voters (citizens 18 and up), 77% are Jewish, including 11% who are ultra-Orthodox. Arab voters account for 17% of voters and the remaining 6% are other minorities.

The proportion of Arab voters is smaller than that of Arab Israelis in the general population — at 21% — because the community has a relatively large number of children below voting age, the CBS explained.

Israel’s total population is just over 9.5 million.

Those aged 18-24 make up 31% of voters, while 29% are aged 25-39.

The 40-59 age bracket accounts for another 31%, and those over 65 represent 25% of voters.

The numbers do not include residents who are not citizens, such as many East Jerusalem Arabs and Druze living on the Golan Heights.

They also do not include Israelis who have the right to vote but have been abroad for a prolonged period of time.

According to the Central Election Committee, there are 6,788,804 eligible voters for the November 1 election, an increase of 210,720, compared to the last election.

The CBS explained the discrepancy of some 600,000 as being due to its disregarding those Israelis who have the right to vote, but have been abroad for a prolonged period.

Some of those have died without authorities in Israel being updated, the CBS noted.

Next Tuesday’s vote will be the fifth election Israel has held in the space of four years, with a good chance that a clear winner will yet again fail to emerge.