How Israeli Elections Work | The Boston Report

Knesset Israeli parliament building, illustrating how Israeli elections work — The Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Photo via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (public domain)

Israelis vote on Oct. 27, 2026, for the 120 members of the 26th Knesset. Israel’s election system works differently from America’s: voters choose a party, not a candidate, and no party has ever won a majority alone. Every government has been a coalition put together after the votes are counted. Here is how the vote, the count and coalition-building work, based on the Knesset, Israel’s Interior Ministry and published guides.

One national vote, closed party lists

Israel elects its parliament by nationwide proportional representation with closed party lists, according to a summary of the Knesset Elections Law. The whole country is a single district. Each party submits a ranked list of candidates, and seats go to lists in proportion to their share of the vote. Voters cannot pick individual names. Knesset terms last four years, but most governments have fallen before their term was up, and snap elections are common.

Under the Basic Law, a regular election falls on a Tuesday in the Hebrew month of Cheshvan four years after the previous vote. This year that date was Oct. 27. The Knesset dissolved itself in May, which raised the possibility of an earlier vote, but the coalition kept the regular date, Reuters reported.

The 3.25% electoral threshold

A list must win at least 3.25% of valid votes to get any seats, which works out to about four seats. The Knesset raised the threshold from 2% to 3.25% in March 2014. It had been 1% until 1988 and was raised to 1.5% and then to 2% in 2003. Parties often merge before an election to clear the bar, and a joint list must pass the threshold as a whole. Leftover votes are divided using the Bader-Ofer method, a version of D’Hondt that slightly favors larger parties. Two parties can also sign “surplus vote” agreements, under which their leftover votes are pooled toward an extra seat.

The threshold is a factor this year. The Times of Israel’s roundup of final polls found several small parties projected below it. The paper’s voter guide counts 37 parties on the ballot.

Who can vote and how ballots are cast

Israeli citizens who are 18 by election day and listed with an address in the population registry can vote, according to the Interior Ministry. With a few exceptions for diplomats and sailors, Israelis living abroad must come to Israel to vote. Election day is a national holiday, and most polling stations are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Each voter gets an envelope, goes behind a screen and picks a paper slip printed with a party’s one-to-three Hebrew or Arabic letters, such as מחל for Likud and שס for Shas. Ballots are counted by hand and entered into a computer system that is not connected to the internet. Soldiers, hospital patients, prisoners and diplomats use “double envelope” ballots, which are counted last at the Knesset. The Central Elections Committee, chaired by a Supreme Court justice, runs the vote and publishes the results.

From results to a government

After the final results are in, the president consults the leaders of every party that won seats and then asks the lawmaker considered most likely to form a government to try. This is usually, but not necessarily, the head of the largest party. That person has up to 42 days to negotiate a coalition. The new government needs a confidence vote with a majority of 61 in the 120-seat Knesset.

If the first nominee fails, the president can give the mandate to another lawmaker. If that also fails, the Knesset dissolves and a new election is called. Israel held five elections between April 2019 and November 2022, a stretch in which turnout ranged from 67.4% to 71.5%. With the final 2026 polls showing a bloc deadlock, The Times of Israel has reported that repeat elections in early 2027 are possible, with Netanyahu staying on as caretaker in the meantime.

Removing a government

Israel uses a “constructive” no-confidence vote: a motion to bring down the government must name a replacement prime minister. A government can also fall automatically if the Knesset does not pass the state budget by March 31, three months after the fiscal year begins, which triggers early elections.

Who can run, and who cannot

Candidates must be at least 21. Senior civil servants, career officers and serving judges must resign before running, and the president and the chief rabbis cannot serve in the Knesset. The Central Elections Committee can bar a list that rejects Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, incites racism or supports armed struggle against the state.

For the latest numbers, read our roundup of the final Israel election polls and our earlier analysis of Netanyahu’s path to 61 seats.

Sources

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How Israel’s Elections Work: 120 Seats, a 3.25% Threshold and Coalition Deals