Voting for U.S. representatives to the World Zionist Congress (WZC), the international “parliament of the Jewish people,” ended on March 11, 2020 and was conducted primarily online.  The seven-week US election for the World Zionist Congress garnered 123,575 votes, from American Jews in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and US territories.  This represents a 115% increase – more than double – from the turnout of the last WZC election in the US in 2015 and is the highest number of votes since an open election began for the entire American Jewish community 30 years ago.

There were 15 slates, comprised of 1,800 delegate candidates, which competed for the 152 American elected seats at the Congress during the election administered by the American Zionist Movement (AZM).  VOTEM, the independent private election management company retained by AZM to conduct the ballot process, tallied the votes and presented the official final results to AZM.  Information on the slates, candidates and election process can be seen at azm.org/elections.

After the votes were certified, the number of delegates elected per slate were apportioned using the formula outlined in the official election rules. The 38th World Zionist Congress has long been scheduled for October 20-22, 2020 in Jerusalem. However, given the current COVID pandemic and travel restrictions, the initial WZC sessions and deliberations may be conducted via a global virtual platform.  Additional details on the Congress will be provided as available from the World Zionist Organization.

Questions? Contact elections@azm.org