U.S.-like "get out the vote" campaign underway in Israel
It is a mild, sunny day in Tel Aviv, perfect for getting to the polls. Election day in Israel is a holiday, so no one has an excuse not to vote -- and the indications are people will -- in record numbers.
If the early bird gets the worm, score one for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who voted minutes after the polls opened at 7 a.m., reports CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen. He is seeking a fourth term and vowed Monday that a Palestinian state would not be created on his watch.
That issue, however, may not be what decides the outcome.
Despite the talk in the United States about the Iran nuclear deal, the biggest issues are high taxes, high prices and a falling standard of living. A lot of Israelis are voting their pocketbook on Tuesday.
Netanyahu's main challenger is American-educated Isaac Herzog, whose party was ahead late in the campaign, but Israeli media say the race tightened over the weekend as the undecided decided.
As for the turnout, which might hit 80 percent, credit the Americans, or at least American political expertise, being used against Netanyahu.
It had people like Opher Shamir going door to door saying it's time to replace the government.
It's a classic American "get out the vote" campaign: 25,000 volunteers knocking on 200,000 doors until polls close at 10 o'clock local time Tuesday night. And it's never been done in Israel before -- until Nimrod Dweck helped found Victory 2015 with donations from Israelis and Americans and hired Jeremy Bird, who ran the Obama campaign ground game in 2008 and 2012.
"I think the best think [the American consultants] told that is that we need to meet people," Dweck said.