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Adults around the U.S. will cast their vote for the the next POTUS on Nov. 8, 2016—but what about the astronauts in space? How do they cast a vote from over 200 miles above Earth?
Before 1997, voting from space was just a stellar idea, not a reality. Susan Anderson was the project manager from Johnson Space Center who led the bill allowing astronauts to vote to then-president George W. Bush’s desk. That June, Bush signed the bill, and on Nov. 4, 1997, David Wolf was the first astronaut to vote from space.
Here’s how it works:
- A digital ballot is created as an encrypted file—no one can open it except the county clerk issuer and the astronaut.
- The encrypted file is sent by email to the International Space Station (astronauts are generally sent the ballot and given a week’s time for return).
- The astronaut opens the file to vote.
- The ballot is sent back to Mission Control in the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.
- The ballot is sent to voting authorities at the astronaut’s County Clerk’s Office to be transcribed into a physical copy and recorded.
If David Wolf’s name sounds familiar, it’s because Dr. Wolf donated some of his space objects to the museum and has helped develop and implement our exhibit Beyond Spaceship Earth. Wolf voted in his local election from the Russian space station, Mir. In 2004, Leroy Chiao was the first astronaut to vote in the presidential election.
Chiao was quoted in The Atlantic positioning his vote as not only a civic duty, but an encouraging act:
"Part of being an astronaut is trying to serve as a good example, so the more we can do to encourage citizens to go out and vote, the better off we'll be," he said. "If this guy can vote from space, I ought to go down to my local polling place."
For all you future astronauts out there, don’t let the duty of voting keep you grounded. Clearly, your vote still counts out of this world.
