Whether Israelis who live abroad have the right to cast their ballots is a question that arises ahead of every election in Israel. This year, the debate is as heated as ever due to thousands of Israelis stranded abroad because of the travel disruptions caused by the pandemic.
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A poll published Tuesday by the World Zionist Organization's Department for Organization and Connection with Israelis Abroad and the Geocartography Knowledge Group revealed that 80% of Israelis support granting citizens of the Jewish state who live abroad the right to vote from outside Israel, essentially creating an absentee ballot system.
Under Israeli law, only a select few Israelis who work in diplomatic missions and other official capacities abroad can vote by absentee ballot. All other citizens have to arrive at their local polling station on election day in order to vote and only if they have maintained their residency status.
According to the survey, 60% of right-wing voters supported extending the absentee system to, while only 52% of left-wing voters were of the same opinion.
Data further showed that Israelis with an academic education were less inclined to allow their compatriots abroad to vote. Only 34% of academics supported the move, as opposed to 54.4% of Israelis with a high school education.
"The data speaks for itself," Gusti Yehoshua Braverman, head of the Department for Organization and Connection with Israelis Abroad, told Israel Hayom. "The new Knesset that will be formed will need to place this issue on its agenda, to care for Israeli democracy and create a mechanism that will allow [Israelis] to vote and exercise their democratic rights – both those who are residents in Israel and those who are abroad temporarily."
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