Stranded Astronauts Will Cast Their Ballots From Space

NBC News reports:

The two American astronauts stranded on the International Space Station through February said Friday they plan to vote in the November election from space.

“I sent down my request for a ballot today,” one of the astronauts, Butch Wilmore, said on a call with reporters on Friday afternoon. “It’s a very important role that we play as citizen including those elections, and NASA makes it very easy for us to do that.” The other, Sunita Williams, agreed with the sentiment.

Election officials in Harris County, Texas — where NASA’s Johnson Space Station is located — said they work with NASA to send astronauts a PDF with clickable boxes to make their choices. The PDF is password protected to ensure a secret ballot.

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We recently talked about how astronauts have been able to vote from space since 1997. (https://t.co/4Wze5kHTeV) Today, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were asked about voting in the upcoming election, given their unexpected mission extension. Here’s what they said. @scrippsnews pic.twitter.com/ddrhn8YBOD

— Clayton Sandell (@Clayton_Sandell) September 13, 2024