Three NASA astronauts vote from space ... Voting held in space

[Financial News] Voting took place even in the middle of space on the 3rd (local time), the day of the U.S. midterm elections.
AP and tech outlet Mashable, among others, reported that three astronauts with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)—Anil Menon, Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney—who are aboard the International Space Station (ISS), had voted electronically.
According to a short video Menon posted on X (formerly Twitter), a temporary polling station was set up in his private sleeping quarters, where the astronauts took turns using a computer to cast their ballots.
“Even in space, you can vote,” Menon said. “All three U.S. astronauts had the privilege of voting from the space station. We voted electronically, and the ballots were securely transmitted to election officials.”
The electronic ballots they filled out are sent to Earth through a complex process.
After being transmitted in encrypted form via NASA’s Near Earth Network to a ground antenna in New Mexico, the ballots are sent on to Harris County, Texas, via the Houston control center.
According to NASA, astronauts can fill out the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), which allows U.S. citizens living abroad to register to vote and request an absentee ballot. Voting from space has taken place since 1997.


[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, International Affairs Correspondent Reporter