From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 15, 2026
First ballots of 2026 election are cast as voting opens at Israel’s diplomatic missions abroad
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The first ballots of Israel’s 2026 election were cast overnight as voting opened at Israeli diplomatic missions around the world ahead of the October 27 election.
The voting period for people serving at diplomatic missions abroad and their families will last around 30 hours from start to finish, with each embassy opening its station during local daytime hours.
In total, 101 polling stations will operate at 99 diplomatic missions for around 4,800 eligible people to cast their votes.
Voting abroad is not an option for most Israelis, and is only available for envoys, diplomatic staff, and their families.
The first embassy to open its polling station was the Israeli embassy in Wellington, New Zealand, where voting began at 9 a.m. local time, or 11 p.m. the previous night Israel time.
Staff at the newly opened Israeli embassy in Fiji were next to cast votes, with its polling station opening an hour after New Zealand.
The final missions to cast their ballots will be the Israeli consulates in San Francisco and Los Angeles, where voting will close at 8 p.m. local time, or 6 a.m. Friday morning in Israel.
The ballot slips will then be flown to Israel and sent to the Knesset for counting.
The Times of Israel Community.