Three American astronauts, currently orbiting the Earth on the International Space Station (ISS), cast their votes in the U.S. election this year, proudly performing their civic duty from hundreds of miles above.
As Election Day arrived on Earth, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, and Don Pettit marked the occasion with a special photo posted on Instagram. In the picture, they’re shown wearing red, white, and blue socks with the words “Proud to be American” emblazoned across them.
“We have a very important duty as citizens, and voting from space is pretty cool,” Williams said during a September 13 press conference from the ISS, expressing her excitement about the unique voting experience.
Thanks to a special Texas law, American astronauts can participate in elections even when they are in space. This law was passed in 1997, allowing astronauts who are Texas residents and meet voting requirements to cast absentee ballots from orbit. It was originally designed to ensure that space travelers, who often spend long durations on missions, do not miss the chance to vote.
David Wolf, a NASA astronaut, became the first American to vote from space in 1997 while stationed aboard Russia’s Mir Space Station. Since then, several astronauts have followed suit, including retired astronaut Leroy Chiao in 2004. Chiao’s vote from space inspired a public service message encouraging Americans to participate in the voting process.
“When I left for my mission in October, I realized I hadn’t arranged for an absentee ballot,” Chiao told CNN. “I quickly asked NASA if I could vote from the station, and they had a process in place. It became a great way to remind people back home to go out and vote.”
Astronauts receive their ballots through NASA’s Near Space Network, which connects satellites in orbit with communication antennas on Earth. The process is fairly straightforward. Once the ballot request is made, an encrypted document is sent via email to the astronaut, who then opens it with a secure password and submits their vote electronically. The completed ballot is then transmitted back to Earth through the same network, allowing the astronaut’s vote to count even while they are miles away from the nearest polling booth.
“I sent down my request for a ballot today,” Wilmore said at a pre-launch conference. “It’s an important role we all play as citizens, and NASA makes it very easy for us to be included in elections.”
These astronaut votes contribute to the total number of early ballots submitted in their home county of Harris County, Texas, which recorded over 1.2 million early votes this election. The participation of the astronauts has added a symbolic touch to the ongoing election season, showing that even those in space feel the responsibility to be involved in the democratic process.
NASA’s Crew Dragon capsule recently returned to Earth after a five-day mission, making history by reaching the highest orbit for humans in 50 years and conducting the first privately funded spacewalk. While the Crew Dragon mission was short, other astronauts, like Wilmore and Williams, spend extended periods in orbit. For these long-term ISS residents, voting absentee from space has become a standard part of their mission routines.
Voting from space underscores the unique challenges that astronauts face while living in such a remote, controlled environment. Beyond the technical demands, astronauts experience a significant disconnect from daily life on Earth. Voting, however, allows them to remain connected and engaged in national events, even from afar.
The Texas law expanding the state’s Election Code to accommodate “a person who will be on a space flight during the early-voting period and on Election Day” reflects a forward-thinking approach to inclusivity, ensuring that all Americans have a voice in the nation’s decisions, regardless of their physical location.
NASA’s commitment to helping astronauts vote illustrates a longstanding priority of the agency to keep its crew members fully engaged in civic life. While astronauts on the ISS might be floating above the political and social turbulence on Earth, they feel deeply connected to their country and its democratic process.
