Elections for the 19th Knesset may still be 13 days away, but the first votes were cast on Wednesday by Israeli diplomats and other officials serving abroad on state business. The first ballots will be cast at the Israeli Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand late Wednesday night Israel time. The 31-hour overseas voting period will end in Los Angeles early Friday morning Israel time. According to the Central Elections Committee, around 4,000 Israeli citizens are expected to vote from abroad. Only Israeli diplomats and other Israelis officially representing the country (as well as their family members) are eligible to vote from abroad. Israel does not have an absentee voting system for the general public like that of the U.S. The largest overseas voting station will be located at the Israeli Consulate in New York, where there are around 600 eligible voters. The smallest overseas voting stations have as few as four eligible voters. The first ballots that will return to Israel will arrive on Friday from the Israeli Embassy in Amman, Jordan.
