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- NASA astronaut Kate Rubins will be in space during the next general election, but she won’t let that stop her from voting.
- “We consider it an honor to be able to vote from space, so we filled out a form and voted by absentee ballot,” he told the Associated Press.
- Texas, where most American astronauts live, allows them to vote using a secure electronic ballot, which, once completed, is sent to the Secretary of the Country by Mission Control.
- “I think it’s very important that everyone votes, and if we can do it from space, I think people can also do it from the ground,” Rubins told the AP.
- Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.
NASA astronaut Kate Rubins plans to vote from space during the upcoming general election.
Rubins told The Associated Press on Friday that astronauts cast votes from orbit because “they feel it is very important.”
“It is essential to participate in our democracy,” he said. “We consider it an honor to be able to vote from space, so we fill out a form and vote by absentee ballot, and I plan to do so in November.”
Rubins is in Star City, Russia, the AP reported, where he is preparing for a mid-October launch to the International Space Station. He will spend six months there.
Most of the American astronauts live in Houston, Texas, the AP said. State law allows them to use a secure electronic ballot to cast a vote, which Mission Control sends to the county clerk, once it is completed.
“I think it’s very important that everyone votes, and if we can do it from space, I think people can also do it from the ground,” Rubins said.
Rubins and fellow astronaut Shane Kimbrough voted from space during the 2016 presidential election, according to AP.
