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Here's How NASA Astronauts Stuck in Space Are Going To Vote In U.S. Election

Two astronauts will cast their votes from space using a carefully formulated process, monitored by NASA and election authorities.

BY SOMDATTA MAITY

PUBLISHED SEP 26, 2024

Cover Image Source: NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Commander Butch Wilmore (L) and Pilot Suni Williams in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty

Two NASA astronauts might be stuck in space, but that does not mean they will forego their voting duties. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were sent to the International Space Station in June, CNN reported. Due to unavoidable circumstances, their stay was prolonged which meant they were set to miss the elections. But, due to a special law, the duo will be able to cast their votes from space.

Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Pixabay

Wilmore and Williams went as part of the first crewed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, CNN reported. The duo were expected to return after a week, but everything changed when their capsule malfunctioned. NASA authorities decided, that the astronauts will stay in space till 2025, to ensure their safe return.

The U.S. presidential elections are set to take place in November 2024, CNN reported. The astronauts will take the help of a special Texas law to perform their voting duties. "It’s a very important duty that we have as citizens and I’m looking forward to being able to vote from space, which is pretty cool," Williams shared.

Texas legislature passed a bill in 1997, that expanded the Texas election code and allowed a citizen on a space flight during the early voting period and on election day to become a voter, CNN reported. Most astronauts reside near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas’ Harris County, which incentivized Texas authorities to formulate this law. The first astronaut to cast his vote, using this law was David Wolf.

Image Source: CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - JUNE 05: NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Commander Butch Wilmore (L) and Pilot Suni Williams walk out of the Operations and Checkout Building on June 05, 2024 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The astronauts are heading to Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which sits atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Space Launch Complex 41 for NASA’s Boeing crew flight test to the International Space Station. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) — Image Source: NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Commander Butch Wilmore (L) and Pilot Suni Williams walk out of the Operations and Checkout Building on June 05, 2024 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A proper process is put in place, which astronauts need to follow, to cast their vote from space, CNN reported. At first, an encrypted Word document is sent to the astronaut's email address, which they need to open with a particular password. This document is an electronic absentee ballot, which astronauts need to fill up and then it "will be encrypted and uploaded into the space station’s on-board computer system," according to NASA.

From the computer system, the ballots will go through a tracking and data relay satellite, and then be sent to a ground antenna at the NASA White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico, CNN reported. NASA will transfer the ballot to mission control in Houston, from where it will finally be handed to the county clerk.

Election officials are working with NASA to send Wilmore and Williams their election ballots, CNN reported. "Before sending the astronauts their ballot, a test ballot with a unique password is sent first," said Rosio Torres-Segura, a spokesperson for the Harris County clerk. "Crew member-specific credentials allow the astronauts access to a secure ballot. After a successful test, the secured ballot is sent as a fillable document so the astronauts can make their selections, save them, and send them back. Once the astronauts vote their live ballot, it is returned, printed, and processed with other ballots."

Wilmore has already sent his request for a ballot, CNN reported. "It’s a very important role that we all play as citizens to be included in those elections, and NASA makes it very easy for us to do that," he added. Williams is also excited about the prospect of voting from space.