Some 5.3 million Israelis will be eligible to vote in the March 17 election, a rise of 231,000 (4.5 percent) from the 2013 election, according to data released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. The report found that 80 percent, or 4.24 million, of eligible voters are Jewish, while 15 percent (795,000) are Arab. The remaining 5 percent (265,000) are defined as "others" and are mostly recent immigrants to Israel who arrived under the Law of Return, but are not officially classified as Jewish in the population directory. Just over half the eligible voters this year, 50.5 percent, are women. Some 848,000, or 16 percent, of eligible voters are between the ages of 18 and 24, the report found. A further 1.6 million (30 percent) are between the ages of 25 and 39. About 1.63 million (31 percent) are aged between 40 and 59, and 1.22 million (23 percent) are aged 60 or older. If 100 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot, winning a seat will require 44,166 votes. The report does not include adult residents who are not citizens, as only citizens have the right to vote. This group is primarily comprised of Arabs in east Jerusalem and the Druze in the Golan Heights. The report also does not include Israelis of voting age who are living or traveling abroad, estimated to be about 540,000 people.
Number of eligible voters up by 231,000 since last election
Just over half of eligible voters this year, 50.5 percent, are women • Sixteen percent of voters are aged 18-24, while 23 percent are 60 plus • Some 80 percent of voters are Jewish, 15 percent Arab and 5 percent "other."
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