Why specifically on Tuesday, and what could disqualify your vote? Everything you didn't know about the elections
An explanatory article ahead of the 2026 elections: why elections are held on Tuesday, why the envelopes are blue, which mistakes disqualify a vote, and what to do if you lost your ID. The article answers common voter questions, including an explanation of votes counted late and a blank ballot as a protest.
The explanatory article by 'Israel Hayom' ahead of the 2026 elections, to be held tomorrow (Tuesday, October 27), answers common voter questions. The article explains why elections are usually held on Tuesday: Basic Law: The Knesset sets Tuesday as the regular date, and the practical reason is to allow preparation at the start of the week and time for vote counting before the Sabbath. However, this was not always the case – the first elections in 1949 were on Tuesday, but in 1951 on Monday, in 1955 on Sunday, and in 1984 and 1996 on other days. The blue envelopes change their shade each election cycle to prevent reuse of old envelopes, as explained by former CEO of the Central Elections Committee Tami Adiri in a Knesset discussion in 2001. Votes of soldiers, hospitalized patients, and prisoners are counted late because they vote in a double envelope requiring verification that the voter did not vote twice. Common mistakes that can disqualify a vote: inserting ballots of two different lists, or adding a scribble that could identify the voter. Two or three identical ballots are counted as one vote, but four identical ballots disqualify the vote. Those who have moved cannot vote at a nearby polling station unless updated in the voter registry, except for cases like those with limited mobility. Identification can also be done with a valid driver's license or Israeli passport, not just an ID card. A blank white ballot is considered invalid, but you can write the letters of the desired list on it if ballots are missing in the voting booth.