CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers, including those serving annual reserve duty, and border policemen cast their ballots two days before the rest of the country.

At the close of Shabbat (the Sabbath) Saturday evening, the IDF opened a polling station at an Air Force Base to accommodate soldiers leaving the country for assignments abroad.

At 8:00 a.m. Sunday, three polling stations in the north, center and south were open for border policemen.

When the polls close Tuesday evening at 10:00 p.m., their votes, along with those of hospital patients and diplomats abroad will be counted.

Israeli citizens serving prison sentences also voted early.

Nearly five and a half million Israelis are eligible to participate in Tuesday's national elections, 5 percent more than in the 2006 elections.

Source: The Jerusalem Post