Youth turnout could decide 12 Knesset seats

The votes of 640,000 first-time voters could determine 12 Knesset seats, as they represent nearly 10% of the electorate. Yael Chernyvsky, 18, from Ramat Hasharon, is one of them, and she plans to cast her ballot for the first time on Oct. 27. She is voting to change the future of the country, and she is likely to support one of the opposition parties in the “change bloc,” which seeks to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been in office since 2009 except for a brief period in 2021-2022.

High voter turnout is expected, with 80% to 95% of potential young voters saying they will “definitely” or be likely to vote. This is a higher percentage than in the US, where the youth turnout in the 2024 presidential election was only 47%. The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) has surveyed potential young voters, and more than four-fifths of them described the opportunity to vote as either “fairly meaningful” or “very meaningful.”

National security and the cost of living are the top priorities for both Jews and Arabs, as revealed by the IDI survey. Yael Chernyvsky blames the current right-wing government for the country’s problems, and she is voting to change the future of the country. The votes of 640,000 first-time voters could determine 12 Knesset seats, and the outcome of the election will depend on the turnout of these young voters.

The IDI has co-sponsored the young voter event with the Yigal Allon Center, and the event was attended by more than 1,000 first-time voters, including many in pre-military programs. Yael Chernyvsky is one of the estimated 640,000 Israelis aged 18 to 22 eligible to vote in Tuesday’s election, and she is likely to support one of the opposition parties in the “change bloc,” which seeks to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been in office since 2009 except for a brief period in 2021-2022.

The IDI has surveyed potential young voters, and more than four-fifths of them described the opportunity to vote as either “fairly meaningful” or “very meaningful.” This indicates that the youth turnout could decide 12 Knesset seats, as they represent nearly 10% of the electorate.