Special votes and voter turnout in Israel’s 2022 elections

This article analyzes special voting arrangements, known in Israel as ‘double envelope votes’, in the 2022 Knesset elections. The share of Israeli voters casting their ballots through special voting arrangements has increased significantly in the past decade. However, the distribution of these votes across population groups remained unknown until now. Our successful petition to the Central Elections Committee enabled unprecedented insight into special vote variance. The analysis reveals how special votes impacted voter turnout disparities among different localities and demographics. By providing more accurate turnout measurements, this research contributes to the future study of political participation in Israel’s complex electoral landscape.