The Israeli election on October 27, 2026, is drawing citizens home from abroad to vote, with one organizing group estimating that as many as 80,000 people could return for a race that polls suggest is extremely tight.

Key Takeaways

  • Israel generally does not allow voting from abroad, apart from people serving in diplomatic missions.
  • Fly & Vote has arranged flight options, but passengers must pay for their own seats.

Israeli election brings overseas voters home

Israel has about 7.3 million eligible voters, according to the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. The estimate of up to 80,000 returning citizens comes from a group helping to organize Israelis living outside the country; it is not a confirmed turnout figure.

Yael Shomer, a political science professor at Tel Aviv University, said returning voters could make a difference to the final count in a close election. Turnout in the 2022 election was just above 70%, according to Israel’s Central Elections Committee.

Flight arrangements and the race

Fly & Vote, an initiative of the U.S.-based America-Israel Democracy Coalition, chartered a flight for Israelis living in Portugal and bought blocks of tickets on flights from the New York area. Passengers had to pay for their seats.

The privately funded initiative says it does not take a political position or tell passengers how to vote. Organizations and political parties are prohibited from paying for transportation for voters inside or outside Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud faces Gadi Eisenkot, the former Israeli military chief who leads the Yashar party. Both would likely need support from coalition partners to win. The campaign has focused on security, exemptions from military conscription for some ultra-Orthodox men and a contested plan to give the governing coalition greater control over the judiciary.

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