They’re not going to let space stop them.
Two American astronauts currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are preparing to vote in the upcoming November election from space. Astronaut Butch Wilmore has requested his ballot, underscoring the importance of fulfilling civic duties even while in orbit. His colleague, Sunita Williams, agrees that voting from space is both significant and thrilling.
NASA partners with election officials in Harris County, Texas, to facilitate this unique voting process. The astronauts are provided with a secure, password-protected PDF ballot. Initially, a test ballot is sent to ensure the system works correctly, followed by the submission of their final vote. This ballot is then printed and included with other ballots for counting. This process has been in place since a Texas law was passed in 1997 to enable space-based voting.
For over two decades, astronauts have been participating in elections from space. David Wolf was the first to vote from the Mir Space Station in 1997. More recently, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins cast her vote from the ISS during the 2020 election. This longstanding practice demonstrates NASA’s commitment to ensuring that astronauts can fulfill their civic responsibilities even when far from Earth.
Wilmore and Williams have been on the ISS since early June. Although their mission was initially scheduled for about eight days, complications with their spacecraft extended their stay. They are now expected to return to Earth on a SpaceX capsule, rather than the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they initially traveled on.
