IDF deploys 850 polling stations for troops in combat zones

The IDF is preparing an unprecedented election operation to ensure that all serving soldiers can vote, for the first time while crossing borders and operating in challenging combat conditions. Around 850 polling stations will be deployed across all units and operational sectors starting next week.

The expanded number reflects changes in the IDF since the last election: in the previous round, some 700 stations were set up, but the growth in force size, the scale of reserve duty and shifts in operational theaters have driven an increase of 150 stations.

Approximately 75% of the stations are fixed and 25% are mobile units that will operate during early voting. The mobile stations will move between units according to a pre-set schedule, with each polling committee accompanied by an armed officer or NCO responsible for its security.

Early voting in the IDF begins Sunday, October 20, and runs for seven days through the general election day on October 27. Hundreds of fixed and mobile stations will operate wherever soldiers are serving, whether in regular service or active reserve duty.

Soldiers may vote at a military polling station or at a civilian one. Voting is conducted using double envelopes to verify that the voter is eligible and votes only once.

When a mobile station moves between units, its secondary ballot cover remains sealed to ensure the integrity of the process and preserve the sanctity of the ballot box.

Colonel Vered Ben Yehuda has been appointed IDF elections officer, in addition to her role as head of the IDF Employment Center. Hundreds of election officers and some 3,000 soldiers trained to serve as polling-committee members will take part in running the election apparatus during this period.

Each polling station is managed by a committee that has undergone training and is familiar with the procedures and rules required to conduct the vote. The committee includes four members serving in the IDF.

The role of the election apparatus is to enable voting and maintain the integrity of the process, not to engage with political content or the positions of voters. Elections in the IDF are conducted while preserving the military's non-partisan character and keeping the IDF outside political discourse.