US learned from Israel how to vote during COVID-19

American election authorities sought Israeli advice on how to conduct elections in the midst of the crisis over the coronavirus, Central Elections Committee head Orly Adas said Monday in an online press conference. Adas said she briefed 50 representatives from states across America, who inquired about Israeli procedures during the March 2 election when 2500 quarantined Israelis cast ballots. She said the briefing that was supposed to last 90 minutes ended up going on for three hours and the participants then sent follow-up questions.”We were the first country in the world that conducted elections during the coronavirus era,” Adas said in response to a question from The Jerusalem Post. “They wanted to know what we did and what lessons we learned and how we handled crowds.  Since then, some 70 countries have had elections, though some decided to postpone them due to the impact of the pandemic.”Asked what lessons Israel learned from problems with voting in the American election last month, Adas said the problems there were primarily with voting by mail, which Israel does not have. She singled out a recent election in Poland, which she said was conducted completely by mail and was not successful.     To run the election under the current circumstances, the Central Elections Committee is adding 1250 new polling stations, a 30% increase. Each polling station will cost taxpayers some NIS 20,000.There will be special polling stations for the sick, the quarantined and the hospitalized. There will be mobile polling stations at coronavirus testing centers where voters will be able to cast ballots without leaving their cars.Drive-thru polling stations for March Knesset elections (Credit: Central Elections Committee)

The committee purchased large amounts of masks, dividers and disinfectants. The committee will try to draft vaccinated people to work in polling stations, especially in nursing homes and the special polling stations. “We in the Central Elections Committee can overcome any challenge,” Adas said. “We won’t let the obstacles get in the way. But we will do everything possible to maintain the health of the public.”
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