The only American not residing on planet Earth has voted from space, AP reported Monday.
NASA said Monday that astronaut Shane Kimbrough cast his ballot from the International Space Station, sending it back to Earth via a specially designed electronic delivery system. Before launching into space in mid-October, Kimbrough said he was looking forward to being able to say, “I voted from space.”
According to Mashable, a 1997 Texas law allows American astronauts to vote from space and have their vote registered in the county clerk’s office in Texas. They can vote on a “secure electronic ballot” that is sent to that office by the NASA Johnson Space Center mission control.
“An email with crew member-specific credentials is sent from the county clerk to the crew member,” reads a description released by NASA in 2008. “These credentials allow the crew member to access the secure ballot.” Once completed, they return their ballot to the country clerk’s office to be counted along with the rest of the votes.
His predecessor, Kate Rubins, cast an absentee ballot using this method in case her mission was unexpectedly extended before she returned from the station to Earth last week.
She listed her address as “low-Earth orbit,” where the space station currently can be found.
“It’s very incredible that we’re able to vote from up here, and I think it’s incredibly important for us to vote in all of the elections,” said Rubins in an interview.
