Every vote counts on election day—even the ones coming from outer space voters.
If you’re a U.S. citizen studying or traveling abroad during an election, you can absentee vote in a variety of ways, like via an absentee ballot.
But as an astronaut exploring outer space? Well, it might sound complicated, but it’s actually just as simple.
Right now, four American citizens are in space aboard the International Space Station (ISS): SpaceX Crew-9—and each of them has been able to cast their vote.
“It’s a very important duty that we have as citizens,” said Suni Williams, one of the four astronauts.
“NASA makes it very easy for us to [be included in elections], so we’re excited about that opportunity,” added Butch Wilmore, another aboard SpaceX Crew-9.
Like other out-of-state or abroad voters, astronauts can fill out Federal Postcard Applications (FPCAs) for off-planet polling—and the rest is taken care of for them.
“After an astronaut fills out an electronic ballot aboard the orbiting laboratory, the document flows through NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to a ground antenna at the agency’s White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico,” NASA explains on its blog.
“From New Mexico, NASA transfers the ballot to the Mission Control Center at NASA Johnson and then on to the county clerk responsible for casting the ballot,” NASA continued. “To preserve the vote’s integrity, the ballot is encrypted and accessible only by the astronaut and the clerk.”
So, if astronauts are finding ways to vote from space, you can take time out of your day to vote, too.
The post Astronauts Are Voting From Outer Space, So What’s Your Excuse? appeared first on VICE.
The post Astronauts Are Voting From Outer Space, So What’s Your Excuse? appeared first on VICE.
