How do NASA astronauts exercise their right to vote from space?

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ORLANDO, Fla. - The 2024 United States Presidential election has come to an end and our next president was elected. But how do those on the International Space Station exercise their right to vote from more than 200 miles above Earth?

Even in the vastness of space, NASA astronauts don’t miss their opportunity to vote, although it takes multiple steps.

Astronauts can do so through the county clerk's office where they live, whether it's using absentee ballots or early voting.

Before a mission, astronauts complete a Federal Postcard Application, the same form used by military personnel and other Americans abroad. This ensures they are able to vote in federal, state, and local elections.

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Once an astronaut's ballot is prepared, it is securely up-linked to the ISS via NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The astronaut receives the ballot, fills it out, and sends it back to Earth via the same secure system. From there, it is delivered to the relevant election authorities.

Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams, the two NASA astronauts that are currently stranded on the I.S.S. both said in a press conference in September that they would both be voting in the 2024 election.

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"I sent down my request for a ballot today…It’s a very important role that we play as citizens including those elections, and NASA makes it very easy for us to do that", Wilmore says.

Williams agreed, "It’s a very important duty that we have as citizens and I am looking forward to being able to vote from space, which is pretty cool."

Astronauts have voted in U.S. elections since 1997 when the Texas Legislature passed a bill that allowed NASA astronauts to cast ballots from orbit. The secure voting process was first used in the same year, when astronaut David Wolf cast his ballot from the Russian space station Mir. Since then, NASA has ensured that astronauts on long-duration missions can still participate in the democratic process, continuing to vote while advancing exploration beyond Earth.