Israel's election saw the highest voter turnout since 1999. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Tuesday’s voter turnout to elect Israel’s 20th Knesset was 71.8 percent, the highest figure since 1999, when 78.7 percent of eligible Israeli voters cast ballots.

For most of Tuesday, the voter turnout percentage was nearly identical to what it had been in the 2013 Israeli election, which had a voter turnout of 67.8 percent. At 8 p.m., turnout stood at 65.7 percent, compared to 63.7 percent at the same time two years ago. By the time polls closed at 10 p.m. and Israelis were gathered around their televisions, the 2015 voter turnout had exceeded 70 percent. The Central Elections Committee believes that the increased voter turnout was the result of public service announcements encouraging people to vote as well as Israeli President Reuven Rivlin’s urging of the public to head to the polls.