[US midterm election] A precious vote even in space... 3 NASA astronauts vote

On the 3rd (local time), voting day for the U.S. midterm elections was held even in the middle of space.

The Associated Press and IT media Mashable reported that three NASA astronauts staying on the International Space Station (ISS), Anil Menon, Jessica Watkins, and Luke Delaney, voted electronically.

According to a short video posted by Menon on

“You can vote even from space,” Menon said. “All three American astronauts had the privilege of voting from the space station. They cast their votes electronically, which were then safely transmitted to election authorities.”

The electronic ballots they fill out are delivered to the ground through complex steps.

It is encrypted and transmitted to a ground antenna in New Mexico through NASA's near-Earth network, then to the Houston control center and finally transmitted to Harris County, Texas.

According to NASA, astronauts can fill out the Federal Postcard Application (FPCA), which allows Americans living abroad to register to vote and apply for an absentee ballot. Voting has been taking place in space since 1997.