For Whom the Polls Toll? Voter Turnout in the 2022 Elections

Voter turnout in Israel's elections to the 25th Knesset (2022) stood at approximately 70%, but a closer look at the results by locality reveals a more nuanced picture. This chapter sheds light on disparities in election participation, addressing three core questions: (1) Were voter turnout rates in Israel's periphery lower in the 2022 elections compared to the center? (2) What factors contributed to those differences? (3) Did the center-periphery disparities increase between the 2019 and 2022 elections? To answer these questions, a quantitative study was conducted, focusing on voting in all 1,215 localities (Jewish and Arab) and examining the impact of eight socio-demographic and geographical characteristics on voter turnouts. Our findings indicate that the geographical distance of a locality from the country's center is not a significant predictor of voter turnout among Jewish and mixed localities, though it has a notable impact where Arab localities are concerned. Additionally, the socio-economic status of a locality predicts turnout rates in both types of localities, while the size of the locality is associated with these rates inversely. Moreover, development towns have lower voter turnout rates, whereas localities in Judea and Samaria and those with a high proportion of ultra-Orthodox residents have higher turnout.