Judge Solberg tours election logistics hub: 450M ballots ready

Judge Solberg's remarks (Photo: Roi Yedovsky, Central Elections Committee)

Judge Noam Solberg, chairman of the Central Elections Committee, toured the committee's operational logistics center in Shoham on Wednesday, thirteen days before polling stations open across Israel. During the visit, he was shown the packing, quality control and shipping operations for election equipment bound for all 12,018 polling stations nationwide.

Yossi Toren, director of the logistics center, presented the scale of the operation: packing ballot boxes and briefcases for polling-station secretaries, rigorous quality checks, and transport by hundreds of trucks to distribution points. Every shipment is inspected down to the last pen and item required for the polling committee's work.

The logistics operation is preparing for 7,331,981 eligible voters to meet 12,018 ballot boxes across the country. As part of the preparations, approximately 450 million ballot papers have been printed for the 38 competing lists, along with roughly 12 million voting envelopes and 4 million outer envelopes.

The tour also showcased innovations designed to reduce errors and ease the work of polling teams. Among them: a new ruler with a dedicated slot for precise marking of voters who have cast their ballots in the voter registry. A backup system was also presented, designed to rapidly supply additional ballot papers and equipment in case of shortages during election day.

"The logistics center is where you see the election in its most tangible form," Judge Solberg said. "For years, extensive work has been done here below the surface, and at the moment of truth it bursts out and reaches all the polling stations across the country. The Elections Committee staff and the logistics center personnel work with determination, persistence and attention to every detail. Every shipment that leaves here is checked thoroughly, down to the last pen."

Judge Solberg also addressed preparations for security challenges, polarization in public discourse, and cyber and artificial intelligence threats. "There are dozens of oversight and control measures designed to ensure the results will be true results," he explained. "The paper ballot allows us to count every vote, recount if necessary, and make corrections when needed, which is why it provides great confidence in the results. We in the committee, despite all the difficulties, are convinced of the purity of the elections and convinced that you cannot steal an election."

Preparations for the election (Photo: Roi Yedovsky)

Judge Solberg added that the Elections Committee is preparing for security, technological and operational scenarios in cooperation with the Israel Police, the Shin Bet, the cyber system and other bodies. According to him, the 20 regional committees across the country and the committee's teams are operating with a sense of mission and full readiness ahead of election day.

The ballot-printing operation is being carried out at the Orda factory in Kiryat Gat on an intensified schedule of 24 hours a day, six days a week. For each list competing for the 26th Knesset, approximately 11.5 million copies are being printed, which will be available to voters at all polling stations.