If this is your first time voting in Israel, you might be a little confused.
What is a polling station (קלפי)?
What is a ballot (פתק)?
Why are there so many different pieces of paper?
And where are you even supposed to vote?
There’s a famous scene from the Israeli film Sallah Shabati, a comedy from the 1960s, where Sallah, a new immigrant, arrives to vote but has no idea how the process works. I don’t want to spoil it for you, so I’ve included the scene here as a link. But… to make sure you don’t find yourself in a similar situation, here’s a short guide for first-time voters.
Let’s start from the beginning: Where do I vote?
Every voter is assigned to a polling station (קלפי).
It can be located in a school, community center, or another public building.
Before Election Day, it’s a good idea to check where your polling station is.
What do I need to bring?
You can vote using an Israeli ID card, a valid Israeli passport, or a valid driver’s license.
I’ve arrived at the polling station. What now?
You enter, show your ID, and receive an envelope (מעטפה).
Then you go behind the voting booth (פרגוד) – the partition that gives you privacy while voting.
And behind the voting booth? There are lots of ballots (פתקים) with letters on them, and you put one ballot into the envelope.
In Israel, you don’t vote directly for the Prime Minister. You vote for a list or political party (רשימה או מפלגה).
You take the ballot of the list you want to vote for, put it in the envelope, and then put the envelope into the ballot box (קלפי).
Useful Election Vocabulary
Keep this close to you 🙂
בחירות – elections – behirot
להצביע – to vote – lehatzbi’a
הצבעה – voting – hatzba’a
בוחר / בוחרת – voter – bocher / bocheret
קלפי – polling station / ballot box – kalpi
פתק – ballot paper – petek
מעטפה – envelope – ma’atafa
פרגוד – voting booth – pargod
מפלגה – political party – miflaga
רשימה – list – reshima
תעודת זהות – ID card – te’udat zehut
מנדט – Knesset seat – mandat
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