Peace Now started a get-out-the-vote campaign, comparing voter turnout rates in
settlements to those in major cities.
The NGO’s campaign, which it began
to advertise over the weekend on social networks, claims that right-wing and
religious parties are bolstered by low secular voter turnout.
“Don’t let
others decide for you. Go and vote,” the ads read. According to one ad, 80
percent of Israeli citizens over the Green Line voted in the last election,
while the average rate in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Beersheba is 57%.
The
numbers presented by Peace Now come from 2009, when 64.72% of eligible Israelis
voted.
Peace Now also launched a website featuring a map of Israel, in
which visitors can click on names of towns to see their voter turnout rate, or
search for those that don’t appear on the map.
“A careful examination of
voter percentages in the last election gives another explanation for the
Right-wing bloc’s advantage in the election,” the site reads.
“It was
created as a result of higher-than-average voter turnout rates in settlements and
low percentages in large cities.”
The two towns with the top voter
turnout rates are settlements Revava, with 94.5%, and Talmon, with
92.8%.
In Tel Aviv, Peace Now points out, 58.6% voted, 57.45% in Haifa
and 53% in Beersheba, which means that over 250,000 people in those cities did
not exercise their right to vote.
“Because of the large, concentrated
number of people in big cities, a slight change in voter turnout percentages can
influence the election and the makeup of the next Knesset,” Peace Now explained.
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