The results of November’s midterm elections in the U.S. have only recently been finalized, but one thing has been made crystal clear: Young people have been voting in droves. According to the nonpartisan Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), youth turnout this cycle reached near record highs, resulting in razor thin majorities for Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives respectively.
Enthusiasm for the election was not only contained to the borders of America. Across the Atlantic, Jews studying in Israel gap-year programs eagerly anticipated the opportunity to exercise their civic duty.
“I know I need to vote in America, because beyond personal interest—whether that’s taxes or community funding or support for Israel—I have an obligation to my home country to be engaged, contributing and informed,” said Yonah Sperling-Milner, a resident of Riverdale, New York.
Prior to the election she created an Instagram graphic explaining how to vote from Israel and shared it with students in her seminary. Outside of a few small, but surmountable hurdles, she found voting by mail to be relatively straightforward. “The process is designed to be as simple as possible,” she told The Jewish Link.
The procedure for voting abroad varies state by state, but there are a few general guidelines that most states follow.
To start, one must first register and request an absentee ballot. After receiving an absentee ballot the individual then fills in the names of their chosen candidates and propositions. Following this, they can send their ballot to their local Board of Elections office or they can drop it off at either the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem or the Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv. Additionally, every step must be completed before its state mandated deadline otherwise, the ballot risks rejection.
While this may seem simple enough, for many first-time absentee voters the process can appear quite daunting. Despite wanting to vote, Sam Savetsky of Bergenfield was unfamiliar with the overseas electoral system and didn’t have the requisite knowledge to know where to begin. Fortunately for Savetsky, his yeshiva gave a presentation explaining exactly how to vote from Israel. They even continued to offer guidance following the presentation. “If I needed help with something, [they] would just walk me through it,” he said.
Different states institute a multitude of different security measures to prevent fraud and ensure the legitimacy of the ballot. While these measures can complicate the voting process, Savetsky valued the additional security measures. “I’m kind of happy it’s difficult, because it means there’s protection at least,” he told The Jewish Link.
However, security measures were not the only hurdles that prospective voters had to overcome. Students also struggled with navigating the Israeli postal system and dealing with various government bureaucracies.
Yakov Zerykier, a New York native, voted through the American embassy and described the experience as being cluttered and confusing. The embassy staff, apparently unaccustomed to the concept of an absentee ballot, sent him on a wild goose chase throughout the building. Instead of directing Zerykier to the American Citizen Services Unit, where he would be able to submit his mail-in ballot, they mistakenly sent him to the mail delivery room.
After speaking with nearly a dozen embassy staff members he was eventually able to cast his ballot—several hours after he arrived.
Even with all the inconveniences, Zerykier is still glad he voted. “Showing up to the polls shows that the Jewish community cares about what goes on in the halls of government,” he said. “It’s one of the only ways to secure policies that help our community in the future.”
Echoing that sentiment, Rudi Weinberg, a resident of the Upper West Side, believes that voting is not just a civic duty, but a Jewish value as well. He views it as a fulfillment of tikkun olam and urlah hagoyim. “It’s a part of our value system. We’ve always been taught in the Torah that we have to be a light unto the nations,” Weinberg said. “Tikkun olam is a core value of Judaism, and in America one of the primary means of tikkun olam is voting.”
The high youth turnout has many gap-year students feeling optimistic about the future of the Jewish community in America. For these young Jews, voting is seen as an incredibly effective tool. It forces politicians to recognize the Jewish community as a serious voting bloc, enabling the community to secure tangible benefits. Issues they care about such as increased funding for synagogue security or investments in efforts to combat antisemitism do not exist in a vacuum. All of these policies stem from the decision to cast a vote—even when that vote is cast 7,000 miles away.
David Deutsch of Woodmere, New York attended Rambam Mesivta for high school and is currently studying at Migdal HaTorah in Modi’in as a Shana Bet student.
