Israel’s Central Elections Committee has approved a series of special procedures to ensure that IDF soldiers serving in active combat zones will be able to cast their ballots in the upcoming national elections, while also addressing the possibility of missile attacks disrupting voting across the country.

The measures, approved Thursday by the committee headed by Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, include a unique identification process for troops deployed inside Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, where soldiers are unable to carry standard identification documents for security reasons.

Under the new procedures, combat soldiers voting in enemy territory will be identified using their military dog tags, with an additional soldier verifying their identity. The verification process will be documented in the official voting protocol, while the soldiers’ double-envelope ballots will undergo an additional layer of identity verification during the counting process.

The committee also approved emergency protocols for polling stations in the event of missile attacks or air raid sirens on Election Day. If an alert is activated, voting will be temporarily suspended while election officials secure ballots and move the ballot box to a protected area. A designated election supervisor will document the process, and ballots outside the ballot box at the time of the interruption will be placed into a separate envelope for accountability.

Election officials said they intend to locate as many polling stations as possible inside protected spaces, particularly in communities near Israel’s borders. Where that is not feasible, the emergency procedures will be implemented if security conditions require.

Separately, Israeli security officials are preparing for potential threats to the integrity of the October 27 election. The Shin Bet has established a dedicated task force that will work alongside the Central Elections Committee, Israel Police, and other government agencies to safeguard the electoral process.

According to Israeli security officials, the primary threats include ideologically motivated terrorist attacks, threats against political candidates, and foreign interference efforts using cyberattacks, social media campaigns, and bot networks. Officials warned that hostile countries, including Iran, Russia, and China, have increased attempts to influence Israeli public discourse and deepen internal divisions ahead of the vote.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)