Yaakov Lappin is an Israel-based military affairs correspondent and analyst. He is the in-house analyst at the Miryam Institute; a research associate at the Alma Research and Education Center; and a research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. He is a frequent guest commentator on international television news networks, including Sky News and i24 News. Lappin is the author of Virtual Caliphate: Exposing the Islamist State on the Internet. Follow him at: www.patreon.com/yaakovlappin.
(Oct. 23, 2026 / JNS)
Mobile polling stations are moving between IDF outposts within recently established Israeli security zones in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria under coordinated security arrangements, enabling soldiers to vote in the Oct. 27 Knesset election without interrupting their operational missions, a military official told JNS.
Approximately 850 polling stations have been deployed across military bases, outposts and operational sectors following months of preparations, with roughly a quarter designated as mobile stations, the official said. Voting began in Lebanon and aboard Israeli Navy vessels on Wednesday, with additional locations joining the process from Thursday onward.
The arrangements bring the ballot box to troops whose deployments prevent them from visiting their civilian polling stations. In Gaza and Lebanon, mobile stations are the main means of reaching soldiers distributed among military positions, the source explained.
“In Gaza and Lebanon, there are mainly mobile polling stations that move between the outposts, and in some places that are not dangerous—the Yellow Line in Gaza—there are also stationary ones,” the official said.
Security conditions will determine how the voting operation proceeds.
“We are prepared for any change in the situation in accordance with the security situation, and beyond that we cannot elaborate,” the source added.
The voting arrangements encompass regular-service personnel and active-duty reservists, including those operating in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip. In an Oct. 21 announcement, the IDF described a deployment extending from Mount Hermon to Eilat, as well as beyond Israel’s borders.
“Our mission is to enable all IDF service members to exercise their democratic right to vote by secret ballot, including during operational activities and combat beyond the border,” an officer involved in the election process stated.
“The IDF is an apolitical people’s army that will do everything necessary to ensure that the elections are held as scheduled.”
More than 3,000 soldiers have been trained to supervise the voting process, while hundreds of election officers provide information and handle procedures within their units.
Each military polling station is administered by a four-member committee of service members who receive specialized training in military voting regulations and procedures.
Mobile stations follow predetermined schedules between units. Each polling committee is accompanied by an armed officer or noncommissioned officer responsible for security, and the ballot box remains locked while moving between locations.
These arrangements require election personnel to coordinate access to deployed troops while preserving both the security of the polling team and the integrity of ballots already cast, according to the military.
Voting procedures have been tailored to operational assessments over several months.
Voting will continue until polling stations close on Oct. 27, subject to operational requirements, the IDF said in its Oct. 21 announcement. The extended period is intended to reach personnel serving on different missions rather than requiring all troops to vote on the same day.
Unit election officers are responsible for publicizing polling locations and opening hours. For troops in Gaza and other operational sectors, commanders provide the relevant details close to the voting date, according to the military’s published guidance.
The military voting system also has to accommodate soldiers who may move between units or return home before Election Day.
Under the procedure, a soldier places the chosen party’s ballot slip inside a blue voting envelope in the voting booth. That envelope is then placed inside a white outer envelope bearing the voter’s personal details, which the soldier verifies before depositing it in the ballot box.
During processing at the Knesset, officials check that the person named on the outer envelope is eligible and has not voted more than once. After verification, the anonymous inner envelope proceeds to the count with the other double-envelope ballots, while the outer envelope is destroyed, according to the military guide.
Election Day does not automatically mean leave for troops. Military activity continues as normal, making the mobile stations and extended voting period central to reaching personnel who remain on duty.