Israeli diplomats and embassy staff vote in record numbers as election turnout abroad hits 86.7%

Voter turnout among Israeli diplomats, government personnel stationed overseas and eligible family members reached 86.7%, according to figures released Friday after voting concluded at 99 Israeli diplomatic missions worldwide ahead of the October 27 general election. Of 4,863 eligible voters, 4,218 cast ballots, compared with turnout of 69.6% in the November 2022 election, an increase of 17.1 percentage points. Voting began Thursday under a longstanding arrangement allowing Israeli diplomatic and government personnel serving abroad, along with eligible family members, to vote before polling stations open in Israel. Unlike diplomats and other authorized personnel, ordinary Israeli citizens living or traveling abroad cannot vote overseas. The Foreign Ministry and Central Elections Committee operated 101 polling stations at 99 missions, serving embassy and consulate employees, government representatives, attachés and their eligible relatives. Because of time zone differences, voting began at Israel's embassy in Wellington, New Zealand, at 11 p.m. Israel time on October 14, followed by the embassy in Suva, Fiji, Israel's newest diplomatic mission, at 12:01 a.m. Voting then moved westward across the globe over approximately 30 hours, with the final polling stations closing at Israeli missions in Los Angeles and San Francisco at 6 a.m. Friday. The largest polling station was at Israel's consulate in New York, where more than 700 people were eligible to vote.