Israeli soldiers start voting at some 850 military polling stations

Israeli soldiers have started voting in the country's parliamentary election, days before civilians go to the polls, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. According to the IDF spokesperson, more than 850 military polling stations have been set up across all of the army's sectors, from Mount Hermon in the far north to Eilat at the southern tip, and in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.

The Times of Israel reported that the military's stations will stay open through October 27, the date of the general vote, so that soldiers posted far from home or across the border can take part. Hebrew outlets Ynet and N12 also reported that voting had begun at bases and army positions.

How the military vote works

Israel has no postal ballot for most citizens, so soldiers on duty vote at polling stations run inside the military itself. The IDF told The Times of Israel that around 3,000 soldiers, most of them young conscripts, are staffing the stations, and that they were trained by the Central Elections Committee, the body responsible for organising national elections in Israel.

Tens of thousands of troops are entitled to vote at these military stations, according to the same report. About 25 percent of the stations are fully mobile. These travel between units on a schedule set in advance, allowing both conscripts and reservists in hard-to-reach places to vote. The Times of Israel said this includes the army's 40 outposts in the Gaza Strip, many positions in Lebanon and nine outposts in Syria.

The IDF's elections officer, quoted by the military and by N12, said the goal was to let every service member use their "democratic right to vote by secret ballot", including during combat and operational activity beyond the border. Ynet quoted the officer as pledging that the ballot would remain secret.

What the Knesset is

The Knesset is Israel's single-chamber parliament. Israelis vote for party lists rather than individual candidates, and seats are shared out among parties according to their share of the national vote. The parliament then forms the basis for a governing coalition. Because ballots are cast for parties nationwide, a soldier voting at an outpost in Syria or Gaza casts the same kind of ballot as a civilian voting at home.

Where the troops are

The locations named in the reports reflect where Israeli forces are currently deployed. Mount Hermon sits on Israel's northern frontier, near the borders with Lebanon and Syria, while Eilat is Israel's southernmost city on the Red Sea. The reports describe active army positions inside Lebanon and Syria and dozens of outposts inside the Gaza Strip, which is why the military says mobile polling teams are needed to reach units in the field.

Where the reports differ

The figures on polling stations vary slightly in how they are phrased. The IDF spokesperson and N12 describe more than 850 stations, while The Times of Israel and its military correspondent describe some 850, and Ynet's headline gives 850. The differences are small but the sources do not use identical wording, and the exact total has not been published in the material available.

What the reports do not say

The reports do not give a precise number of eligible soldier voters beyond the description of tens of thousands. They do not say how many soldiers had voted by the time of publication, how military ballots are transported and counted, or when results from military stations are combined with the civilian count. They also do not name the IDF elections officer, and they do not describe any specific arrangements for soldiers in units that the mobile stations may be unable to reach.