Israel Election 2026 Cheat Sheet: The Basics, Printable
A printable cheat sheet for the 27 October 2026 Israeli election. The rules, the key numbers, the main parties with their ballot letters, and the dates.
Israel votes on Tuesday 27 October 2026. Voters pick one party list for all 120 Knesset seats, a government needs 61, and a list needs 3.25% of valid votes to win seats. This page puts the rules, the main parties with their ballot letters and the key dates in a short printable format.
The five-minute version
Israel votes on Tuesday 27 October 2026. Voters pick one party list for all 120 Knesset seats. A government needs 61. A list needs 3.25% of valid votes, about 4 seats, or its votes are thrown out. Most polling stations open at 7:00 and close at 22:00.
The two numbers that decide everything
| 61 | Seats a government needs out of 120. No party gets close alone, so every government is a coalition |
| 3.25% | The threshold. Votes for a list under it count for nothing. Lists just above or below it can swing the whole result |
How your vote becomes seats
- You vote for a list, not a person. There are no districts.
- Whole seats go to each list by quota. Leftover seats go to the list with the highest votes divided by its seats plus one (the Bader-Ofer method).
- Two lists can sign a surplus-vote pact to pool their leftovers. It only helps if both pass the threshold. The deadline to sign is 16 October.
- Try the coalition builder to see how seats move.
The main lists and their ballot letters
On the ballot you mark a list by its Hebrew letters, not its name.
| List | Leader | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| Likud | Benjamin Netanyahu | מחל |
| Yashar | Gadi Eisenkot | דרך |
| Together | Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid | רק |
| The Democrats | Yair Golan | אמת |
| Yisrael Beytenu | Avigdor Liberman | ל |
| Shas | Aryeh Deri | שס |
| United Torah Judaism | ג | |
| Religious Zionism and Zehut | Bezalel Smotrich and Moshe Feiglin | ט |
| Otzma Yehudit | Itamar Ben-Gvir | ב |
| The Joint List | ודם | |
| Ra'am | Mansour Abbas | עם |
| Amcha Yisrael | Ofer Winter | ך |
| Reservists and Economic Party | Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha | די |
| Blue and White | כן |
Thirty-eight lists qualified. Several letters look alike, so read the slip carefully. The full list and the lookalike families are in Ballot Letters and How to Make Your Vote Count.
What the polls say
Likud and Yashar are roughly level in the low 20s. Neither the Netanyahu bloc nor the Zionist opposition reaches 61 in the poll average. Small lists near the threshold and the Arab parties decide who gets there. Polls in Israel miss, so use them for direction. See the poll tracker.
Dates to know
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 16 October | Deadline to sign surplus-vote pacts |
| 20 October | Voting at Israeli diplomatic missions abroad |
| About 23 October | Last public polls |
| 27 October | Election day |
| About 4 November | Official results expected |
Where to read more
Frequently asked questions
What do I need to know about the Israeli election in five minutes?
Israel votes on 27 October 2026. You vote for a party list, not a person. A list needs 3.25% of valid votes to win seats, and a government needs 61 of 120. Polls show Likud and Yashar close at the top, with neither bloc reaching 61.
How do I find a party's ballot letters?
Parties appear on the slip as Hebrew letters. Likud is מחל, Yashar is דרך, Together is רק, the Democrats are אמת and Yisrael Beytenu is ל. The page lists the main parties and links to the full list of 38.
Cite this page: The Israel Gazette. “Israel Election 2026 Cheat Sheet: The Basics, Printable.” Updated 9 October 2026. https://israelgazette.com/election/israel-election-2026-cheat-sheet-printable/