MK (Yahadut Hatorah) Uri Maklev has proposed a bill that would change Election Day from a national holiday to a shortened workday. Maklev turned to Knesset officials asking to curtail the process surrounding a bill to enable a vote in the plenum before the Knesset is dissolved.

Maklev’s bill also includes calling for a half day of school instead of missing an entire day, as is the case today. He explains that in most cases, the voting stations are inside schools so schools lose an entire day too.

According to the experts, a day off on Election Day, and this upcoming one will be the third in a one-year period, costs the economy between NIS 1.5 and 4 billion, a sizable amount.

Even before the Knesset election for the current (22nd) Knesset, most MKs were supporting a call to eliminate the national holiday for Knesset Election Day due to the cost to the economy.

Some fear that eliminating the day off will result in lower voter turnout, however a poll released by Globes shows that 85% of registered voters indicate it makes no difference, and they would vote if Election Day is a national holiday or a half day.

The bill calls to make Election Day like an erev Shabbos, with a half day of work, during the morning hours. Maklev adds that today, voting stations operate from 7:00AM to 10:00PM, a total of 15 hours, more than in most countries around the world, in which voting stations operate for 10 hours. He is calling to curtail the hours of voting stations, adding in the past decades, we see voter turnout during the morning hours is very low. In addition, the long day means the poll watchers and others working in polling stations are too tired towards the evening and nighttime hours, and therefore, less vigilant. Maklev suggests that polling stations operate from 1:00PM to 11:00PM, for a total of 10 hours. He also recommends in voting stations in which more than 550 are registered, to split them into two smaller stations towards reducing the load in each polling station.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)