Behind the curtain: How votes are counted in elections — and who decides in case of a dispute?

The article describes the full process of vote counting in Knesset elections, from polling station committees to the Central Elections Committee. It details the committee structure, the role of the professional secretary, criteria for ballot validity, the double-envelope mechanism, and the political friction points where faction representatives challenge ballot disqualifications. Disputes escalate hierarchically up to the Supreme Court justice.

The article provides a detailed explanation of the complex process of vote counting in Knesset elections, starting from the closing of the polls. It describes the hierarchical structure of election committees: a polling station committee at each polling place, 19 regional committees headed by a judge, and the Central Elections Committee headed by a Supreme Court justice (Justice Noam Sohlberg in the upcoming elections). Each polling station committee has four officials: three faction representatives (chairperson, deputy, and member) and a professional, apolitical secretary who is the only non-party-affiliated member. The secretary leads the technical and procedural aspects. Additionally, each party may station an observer at the polling station. The process includes counting envelopes, comparing them to the number of voters, and checking the validity of each ballot. Ballots are disqualified if torn, crumpled, smudged, marked, or written in a language other than Hebrew or Arabic. The rate of invalid ballots is less than one percent. Double envelopes, used by soldiers, hospitalized patients, prisoners, and Foreign Ministry employees, are checked against voter rolls to prevent double voting, delaying the publication of final results. The main friction point occurs during the inspection of each ballot, when faction representatives and observers closely monitor and challenge decisions. In case of a dispute, the decision escalates up the hierarchy: from the polling station committee to the regional committee, and in serious cases to the Central Elections Committee headed by a Supreme Court justice, who serves as an appellate instance.