Legislation8/29/2026

Why Most Israelis Cannot Vote Abroad

Israel conducts voting at more than 100 missions abroad, but only a limited group of citizens may use these polling stations. Students, employees on relocation assignments, and tourists are generally required to return to Israel to participate in elections.

Key facts

•Right to vote: Israeli citizens aged 18 and older
•Legal basis: Basic Law: The Knesset
•The current mechanism for voting abroad was enshrined in 1990
•In 2022 — approximately 4,500 eligible voters at 103 polling stations
•The polling stations operated at 101 missions
•Elections for the 26th Knesset — October 27

The Right Exists, but Voting Must Take Place in Israel

Basic Law: The Knesset grants the right to vote to every Israeli citizen aged 18 or older. However, the voter must be included in the voter registry, which includes citizens registered as residents in the Population Registry, and must generally appear in person at the polling station to which the voter is assigned in Israel. Israeli law does not allow the general public to vote by mail, online, or through early voting.

Who Is Permitted to Vote Abroad

Civil servants stationed abroad as part of their work, including soldiers, may vote at missions abroad, as may employees and emissaries of the Jewish Agency, the World Zionist Organization, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, and Keren Hayesod. The right also applies to their spouses who are eligible to vote and to their children under the age of 20. Therefore, an emissary acting on behalf of the state can vote at a consulate, while a student or an employee of a private Israeli company in the same country cannot do so.

Why This Distinction Was Created

During a Knesset debate on the issue in July 1982, Chaim Herzog proposed allowing civil servants sent abroad and representatives of the national institutions to vote. He opposed extending the arrangement to students, pointing to the difficulty of distinguishing between those who had left temporarily and those who had left the country permanently. The current mechanism was enshrined in 1990 through an amendment initiated by Shevach Weiss and Edna Solodar and consolidated with a government bill.

The Attempt to Expand the Arrangement Was Unsuccessful

Ahead of the current elections, the Knesset considered allowing participants in national and civilian service abroad to vote at missions; other groups, including aircrew members, were also mentioned. However, the relevant provision was removed from the bill. Constitution Committee Chair Simcha Rothman explained that changes to election rules should be advanced only when there is broad agreement.

What Models Are Used in Other Countries

According to International IDEA data, 131 of the 218 countries and territories examined allow some form of voting from abroad; in Europe, 44 of 48 countries do so. France allocates 11 electoral districts to its citizens abroad and allows online voting in parliamentary elections; the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada use various forms of remote voting. Germany conditions the right on having lived in the country recently or proving a connection to it, and mainly uses postal voting, while Australia takes into account the preservation of ties and the intention to return. The Irish model is closer to the Israeli model and includes only limited exceptions.

What this means for you

An ordinary Israeli who is abroad on Election Day will generally be unable to vote at an embassy or consulate, even if the person permanently resides in Israel and pays taxes there. To participate in the elections, the voter must be in Israel and included in the voter registry. As long as the Knesset does not change this arrangement, studies, private business travel, relocation, or vacation do not in themselves confer the right to vote abroad.

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