The first polling places in the U.S. open at 5 a.m. local time, depending on the state's time zone. Approximately 160 million Americans are registered to vote, sometimes standing in long lines to vote.
However, International Space Station (ISS) astronauts with American passports did not have this problem. All four have already cast their votes: Don Pettit, Nick Haig, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.
See: 2024 US Elections. Americanist: This is Trump's last chance.
– This is a very important duty of our people. We're excited about this opportunity because NASA is making it super easy for us to vote. During a video call with journalists, Suni Williams admitted that the ability to vote from space is pretty cool.
US elections. Astronauts voted from space. how?
Like other Americans away from home, astronauts can request an absentee ballot by filling out a federal postcard application.
“After astronauts fill out an electronic ballot at the orbiting laboratory, the document is sent via NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to the White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico,” NASA said on its website. It is sent to a ground antenna.”
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From New Mexico, NASA sends the ballots to NASA Johnson's Mission Control Center, which then sends them to county clerks in charge of voting. To maintain voting integrity, ballots are encrypted and can only be viewed by astronauts and staff.
American astronauts have been voting this way since 1997. The first American to vote from space was NASA astronaut David Wolf. Then, the first astronaut was Kate Rubins, who submitted a ballot in the 2020 presidential election.
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Reference: “Ameryka Wybiera” in Polsat News and Interia. Kamala Harris or Donald Trump?
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