The Central Elections Committee held a press tour Wednesday at its logistics center, where equipment is being prepared ahead of the elections for the 26th Knesset.
The center, known by its Hebrew acronym MAMAL, will distribute ballot papers, ballot boxes, and all other equipment required to operate 12,018 polling stations across Israel.
Alongside its logistical preparations, the committee presented new solutions for dealing with emergencies on Election Day, as well as improvements intended to simplify the voting process and the counting of ballots.
Yossi Toren, head of the Central Elections Committee's logistics division, provided a behind-the-scenes look at the center's operations during the tour.
"We are at the Central Elections Committee's logistics operations center. This is essentially the beating heart. Everything starts here; the entire election process begins here. All the polling station kits are packed here, and from here, the equipment is sent throughout the country," he explained.
During the tour, Toren was asked about allegations and concerns regarding election fraud. He firmly rejected the claims and expressed confidence in Israel's voting system.
"There is no such thing as election fraud. Anyone who truly understands elections knows that this is fake, fake, one big fake. There is no such thing as election fraud," he said.
"Elections in the State of Israel are probably the safest and most secure."
Toren emphasized that the use of paper ballots is precisely what makes it possible to maintain the reliability of election results and oversee the entire process.
"Elections in the State of Israel cannot be rigged. You cannot forge a ballot. It is the safest, most reliable, most efficient method, and significantly cheaper than any other voting system."
"Without getting into the worlds of cyber and AI, it's simply a piece of paper. You take it, it represents the voter's will, you count it, and that determines the number of Knesset seats."
According to Toren, one of the system's main advantages is the ability to verify the results even after voting has concluded.
"It allows for oversight during and after the process, including the possibility of a recount, which no other system allows."
Counting Votes Even During a Security Alert
One of the innovations presented during the tour concerns the Elections Committee's preparations for emergency scenarios.
The logistics center has developed a special tablecloth designed to allow polling station committee members to preserve the integrity of the vote-counting process even if they are required to evacuate the polling station because of an alert or security incident.
"We have also developed a special tablecloth for the counting stage, which is included in the Elections Committee's emergency kits," Toren explained.
"The counting process will take place on the tablecloth, and if, God forbid, there is an alert or they are required to evacuate the polling station for any reason, they will be able to fold up the tablecloth, take everything together, and evacuate with it to a protected space. I hope we won't need it."
The security issue also arose in a broader context when Toren was asked what would happen if a military confrontation with Iran broke out on Election Day and whether such a situation could lead to the cancellation of the elections.
"Look, that is not a logistical issue," he initially replied, clarifying that the division under his leadership is preparing for every possible scenario.
"I am preparing to hold elections under any scenario, including a state of emergency."
"We, the Elections Committee, together with all branches of the state, including the security agencies that lead this area, are preparing to conduct elections properly under any scenario."
Alongside the security preparations, a significant portion of the tour was devoted to the packing and quality-control operations at the logistics center.
Toren demonstrated the process of preparing the suitcases used by polling station secretaries, which contain the sensitive materials required to operate each polling station, including voter registers, official protocols, and voting envelopes.
"What you see here are the departments that pack the election equipment. This is the secretary's suitcase. Inside it are the sensitive materials, the voter registers, the protocols, and the voting envelopes," he explained.
"The work process is meticulous, with extremely precise quality-assurance procedures."
According to Toren, every piece of equipment is individually inspected before leaving the center.
"Election equipment is packed manually to ensure that everything entering the polling station is packed perfectly and works properly."
"We check all the election equipment. You could say that almost the same standard applies to a pen as to an official protocol. Everything is inspected individually and with extreme precision."
During the tour, officials also demonstrated the methods used to inspect packages of ballot papers.
As part of the quality-control process, samples are taken from the packing line, and the ballot papers are arranged in the voting tray to ensure that all candidate lists appear in the correct order.
In addition, packages of ballot papers are weighed to ensure they meet the established minimum weight of 242 grams.
A machine originally designed to count money has also been adapted to count ballot papers.
"We make sure that all the lists are present in the required quantities, at the required quality, at the required weight, and with the required count," Toren said.
"And when something does not meet our standards, it does not go out to the polling station."
The Elections Committee is also working to improve the equipment used by polling station secretaries and voters themselves.
One of the innovations presented was the fourth version of a special ruler designed to help polling station secretaries locate and mark voters' details in the voter register.
The ruler includes a magnifying glass to help read the voter's serial number, a window for marking the register, and a column that allows the secretary to record the time of voting without moving the ruler.
"We have essentially provided them with an ergonomic product," Toren said.
"Those with sharp eyes will notice that it even has a slight curve, so that anyone who gets confused will not use the upper part of the ruler. We want them to use the designated section, and from our perspective, this is a breakthrough."
Another innovation is a new ballot-paper tray featuring markings indicating the minimum required number of ballot papers, an angle designed to improve accessibility for voters, and an opening that makes it easier to remove a ballot paper.
Alongside the tray, a special board has been developed to help polling station secretaries arrange the ballot papers in the correct order at the beginning of Election Day.
"The board you see will be new in these elections. It is designed to help the polling station secretary start the morning more easily, and it complements the new ballot-paper tray," Toren explained.
He noted that these improvements are part of an ongoing process of upgrading election equipment.
"This is another one of the many election products we are renewing and improving, both for the secretary's work and for the user experience."
"There is a customer experience here, and the customers are 7.33 million eligible voters."
Toward the end of the tour, Toren again emphasized the responsibility borne by the logistics division's personnel, who must prepare equipment for thousands of polling stations throughout the country ahead of a single Election Day.
"We have one day to succeed. We are doing everything to make sure it is nothing less than perfect. There is no second chance," he said.
According to Toren, once the logistical preparations are complete, responsibility for carrying out the democratic process also passes to the voting public.
"We have done our part. We are working extremely hard. As far as we are concerned, the election equipment and Election Day will be nothing less than perfect."
"Now the voter must exercise their democratic right, and some would say their democratic duty, to go out and vote."