Ahead of the 27 October Knesset election: polling hours, identification, workers' rights and free transport

By: Blue Box Israel editorial team

The election for the 26th Knesset will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, 27 October 2026. According to the Central Elections Committee, most polling stations will open at 07:00 and close at 22:00, but voting will end at 20:00 in some locations. Before leaving home, check your assigned polling station, prepare suitable identification and plan your journey. The public holiday does not stop every workplace from operating, and free transport arrangements do not cover every route.

The practical details matter even to experienced voters: your voting location is the one in the current register, and a special arrangement allowing one person to vote outside their assigned station does not necessarily apply to someone else. These are the details to know for tomorrow, without polls or predictions about the political outcome.

Where to vote and when to arrive

The Ministry of Interior operates an official polling-station locator and voter eligibility service. Online inquiries require your identity number and date of birth. The result lets you check the voting location's address and polling-station number, not just the school or building name. You can also obtain information by calling 1-800-101-975 or 073-2458358.

According to Kol Zchut, the rights information website, the hotline is open today until 23:00 and will operate from 06:30 to 22:30 on election day. Not receiving a voter notice does not in itself prevent you from voting. The notice provides your polling assignment and helps you find your way; it is not a condition for exercising your right at the polling station.

In communities with up to 350 eligible voters, and at polling stations in hospitals, prisons and residential care homes, voting hours are 08:00 to 20:00, according to Central Elections Committee information. A voter who reaches the polling place before the doors close is entitled to complete the voting process even if the queue has not cleared. Plan your journey around your particular station's closing time and leave enough time to arrive.

What identification to bring and what happens at the station

The Ministry of Interior's list includes an identity card, a valid driving license, a valid Israeli passport and a valid personal military identity card. There are also arrangements for police identification and outgoing Knesset members' cards. For most voters, the practical choice is to prepare one suitable identification document they already hold and check its validity where validity is required.

After your identity is checked and your name marked on the electoral register, you receive a signed ballot envelope and go behind the screen. Choose one ballot paper for your preferred list, place it in the envelope and put it into the ballot box. This is a personal process: the voter makes the choice, even when entitled to help with carrying out the actions.

Keep the two things you prepare before leaving distinct: polling details help you reach the right place, while identification lets you identify yourself to the committee. The voter notice does not replace the identification document. You can complete this check today, before discovering at the entrance that the passport or license you intended to bring has expired.

A public holiday, but not in every workplace

According to Kol Zchut, Knesset election day is a public holiday, and eligible employees taking the day off must not have it deducted from their annual leave. An employee who worked for the employer for at least 14 consecutive days before the election is generally entitled, subject to exceptions, to the pay they would have received had they worked. Foreign workers have separate arrangements, so this rule should not automatically be applied to them.

Transport services and public services designated for election day continue to operate. The list includes petrol stations, food establishments, hotels and emergency services, among others. Employers of eligible voters working in those services must allow them to go and vote. Agree in advance on departure time and the journey needed to reach the polling station.

Payment for election-day work also requires distinctions: an employee may be entitled to increased pay or regular pay and alternative leave, depending on the applicable arrangement. The existence of a public holiday does not mean every shift automatically attracts the same payment. Before the shift, clarify with the employer how pay will be calculated and how you can exercise your voting right.

Free travel starts tonight, with different train and bus conditions

Free travel arrangements begin today, 26 October, at 20:00 and continue until public transport services end on election day. According to Israel Railways, free train travel is available to the general public, but passengers must obtain a paper ticket from station machines. The railway asks passengers not to use travel contracts stored on Rav-Kav cards or transport apps to claim the benefit.

For buses, the arrangement covers intercity routes exceeding 15 kilometers. Urban journeys and short trips do not become free under this arrangement. For information about a particular route, call the Ministry of Transport hotline at *8787. Travel to and from Eilat requires eligibility checks and advance registration with Egged at *2800.

Price is not the only detail to check. Metropoline has announced different timetables and routes that will not operate on election day, including services for school students. Check both outward and return journeys specifically for election day. Passengers transferring between an urban bus and a train may pay for one leg while traveling free on the other.

Accessibility and voting away from home

A voter with restricted mobility assigned to a station that is inaccessible to them may vote at a specially accessible polling station. According to Kol Zchut, this also applies to temporary physical limitations. If the limitation is not visible or there is no document confirming it, a declaration to the polling committee secretary is required. Voting uses a double envelope so officials can check that no additional vote was cast at the regular station.

A specially accessible polling station is not a general option for anyone away from home. As a rule, holidays, studies or visits to another city do not allow voters to choose any convenient station. Plan to reach your assigned station unless a special legal arrangement applies. An ordinary stay abroad likewise does not entitle someone to vote at an Israeli diplomatic mission.

Hospital patients have arrangements for voting at hospitals, requiring appropriate confirmation from the hospital and identification. According to the Central Elections Committee, day hospitalization does not confer this right, and a family member accompanying a patient cannot vote there simply because they are accompanying them. Soldiers and police officers have additional dedicated arrangements. If your circumstances are unusual, establish your precise eligibility before going to an alternative polling station.

When will the official results be published?

Counting will begin after polling stations close, and interim results are expected during the night. Interim results are not the official declaration, however: outer envelopes and the associated checks must also be processed. Numbers appearing on a results website do not mean the process is complete.

The deadline for publishing the final results in Reshumot, Israel's official gazette, is Wednesday, 4 November 2026. The date appears in the Central Elections Committee's notice on the results website and is also explained in ynet's election guide, in line with the eight-day period following election day. This is a publication deadline, not a promise that the announcement time or completion of counting has already been set. Until then, read each update according to its status and the time it covers.