Nasa astronaut Sunita Williams, currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS), is preparing to vote in the US presidential election while orbiting Earth, approximately 400 km above its surface.
Astronauts unable to reach their polling stations can still participate in elections from space. Similar to how people on Earth use absentee ballots, astronauts utilize a system that mirrors this process to cast their vote.
After completing a Federal Post Card Application to request an absentee ballot, an astronaut receives an electronic version. This electronic ballot then travels a remarkable distance—1.2 million miles—from the space station to Mission Control at Nasa’s Johnson Space Center in Texas.
The ballot’s journey relies on the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System for secure transmission. From the space station, the encrypted ballot travels to a test facility in New Mexico before reaching Johnson Space Center. Finally, the ballot arrives at its final destination: the astronaut’s county clerk, who officially counts the vote.
This method ensures the astronaut’s vote remains confidential, as only Williams and the county clerk have access to the ballot.
This is not the first time an American astronaut has voted from space. Astronaut David Wolf was the first to vote from space in 1997, and most recently, astronaut Kate Rubins cast her vote from the ISS during the 2020 US elections.
Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, currently orbiting Earth on the Boeing Starliner capsule, are expected to return in February, after the election.