"I can't get an answer from the bot and I don't know if I'll be able to vote": Israelis living abroad have struggled in recent days to receive an answer from the Interior Ministry on whether they are included in the voter registry ahead of the 26th Knesset elections, scheduled for late October, or whether they have been removed from it.
The Israelis, some of whom have already purchased plane tickets to travel to Israel ahead of Oct. 27, claim the government bot does not allow them to check whether they are registered in the voter registry and, if they are, where they need to go in order to exercise their right to vote.
Israelis living abroad have struggled in recent days to receive an answer from the Interior Ministry on whether they are included in the voter registry
(Photo: AFP)
"Already for three days I have been trying to get information on whether my original polling station number has changed and whether I am even registered in the voter registry," said David, a 26-year-old Israeli who has lived in Australia for the past five years.
"The government bot keeps asking the same questions over and over, such as what my ID number is, but after I enter the information it does not provide any details. There was no such problem in the previous elections."
A ynet inquiry with the Interior Ministry found that there is indeed a technical issue with the bot, but it should not affect Israeli citizens living abroad. In a notice issued by the ministry ahead of the upcoming elections, it said that requests to correct voter details could be submitted until tomorrow, Aug. 4.
However, the ministry said that for Israeli citizens living abroad who are eligible to vote, the deadline for requesting an address correction is in one month, Sept. 3. The voter registry will be finalized four days later.
Knesset member Gilad Kariv, who previously contacted the chair of the Central Elections Committee on the issue, said on Monday that "despite repeated inquiries, the Interior Ministry has failed to make information accessible that is especially relevant to Israelis abroad who need to decide whether to purchase a ticket and come vote.
"For weeks, the information was inaccessible and even now, after it has been made available, there are many problems with the way it is being presented. Many people are unable to verify their eligibility to vote and we are handling dozens of requests on the matter.
"At face value, this does not appear to be a malicious move and we are not identifying intentional removal of eligible voters, but it is still a serious failure by the Interior Ministry on an extremely sensitive issue - the right to vote," he added. "This is not how information should be made accessible ahead of an election. We demand that the Interior Ministry immediately resolve the problems with access to information, within the coming hours."
In recent days, many Israelis have been trying to receive answers regarding their ability to exercise their right to vote. One example is Merav Ronen, an Israeli living in England with her local husband and their children.
"There is a WhatsApp service for checking, which is supposed to provide answers within 24 hours through a bot," she said. "The problem is that it simply does not work and does not respond. It asks you to enter your ID number and date of birth, but it does not provide any information. This also happened to other Israelis who live here."
Ronen also tried to investigate further and contacted her brother, who lives in Israel, thinking there might be a problem connecting to the system from abroad, but the results were the same.
"The question is what is happening because I understood that changes and appeals can only be made until tomorrow," she said. "I would not be surprised if we discover that there is an attempt here to keep voters abroad away because this time they are expected to come in large numbers. I also remember that some time ago there was talk among Israelis here that maybe they would not let us vote."
Anat Ron-Kendall, an Israeli living in Oxford, England, experienced a similar issue. During the Oct. 7 massacre, Anat was at her parents' home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz when Hamas terrorists crossed the border fence and began murdering residents of nearby communities. Her father, the late Shlomo Ron, was killed in the massacre while using his body to protect his family, including Anat.
"I am a unique Israeli case. Not only did I experience the trauma of Oct. 7, but afterward I returned to England and faced all the pro-Palestinian protests," she said.
According to Ron-Kendall, "It was clear to me that I wanted to vote and I didn't know how because I hadn't voted for years. People started sending me links to register and check whether I was on the voter list. I tried entering my details. I have an ID number, but I haven't had an Israeli ID card for a long time and I don't have an Israeli address or phone number, which the bot requires. The whole thing caused me a lot of stress."
Keren, an Israeli architect living in Portugal, said she also encountered a problem.
"I was always able to vote and never had an issue, but now something has become less clear. I cannot get a clear answer regarding my registration in the voter registry because, since I am not a resident of Israel, I cannot enter an address through which the polling station assignment is determined," she explained.
"The deadline for updating the voter registry is tomorrow and the answer I received was that the assignment is made at a later stage and that it had already been done several months ago. In recent days I have tried again and again, but without success."
The Interior Ministry said in response:
"These days, the service center through WhatsApp and text messages is undergoing upgrades and therefore, at this stage, the service is available only through the following channels: a telephone center, which provides information through self-service and human assistance, at the numbers 1-800-101975 or 073-2458358. A written inquiry can also be submitted through an online form. Additional details are available on the Interior Ministry's website.
"It should be emphasized that the final voter registry, which will be generated from population registry data on Sept. 3, 2026, will include every person who, on the date the registry is generated, is an Israeli citizen registered as a resident in the Population Registry, with their address, and whose 18th birthday falls no later than election day. Changes that are updated and approved by the Population and Immigration Authority by the date the final registry is generated, Sept. 3, 2026, will be included."