Over 233,000 double-envelope ballots counted in Israeli election, nearly 50% of total

More than 233,000 double-envelope ballots, nearly 50% of the total, have been counted in Israel’s elections, Israeli media reported Thursday.

A total of 233,815 double-envelope ballots have been counted out of nearly 500,000, the daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

Double-envelope ballots are used by voters casting their ballots away from their registered polling stations, including soldiers, diplomats, police officers, and displaced residents.

Officials check identification details on the outer envelope to prevent duplicate voting, then separate it from the anonymous ballot before counting.

The remaining votes could change individual parties’ seat totals and the balance between the rival blocs.

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The Central Elections Committee estimates that the double-envelope vote count will conclude later in the afternoon, according to the report.

After all regular ballots were counted, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc was projected to win 53 seats, compared with 48 for the opposition bloc led by Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot and 19 for predominantly Arab parties, according to Channel 12.

Neither main bloc was projected to reach the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-member Knesset.

The Joint List was projected to secure 12 seats and the United Arab List (Ra’am) seven, giving Arab parties a record combined representation of 19 seats.

Voter turnout reached 77.7%, the highest since 1999, according to the election committee.

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