3 NASA astronauts cast votes in US midterm elections from International Space Station

Three NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have cast their votes in the 2026 US midterm elections, even though they are hundreds of miles above Earth. Anil Menon, Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney filled out electronic ballots and sent them securely to election officials in Harris County, Texas.A still image taken from a video released November 3, 2026, shows astronaut Anil Menon pointing to an "I voted" sticker on his clothes after voting in the US midterm elections from the International Space Station (ISS). NASA/Anil Menon/Handout via REUTERS (via REUTERS)Menon shared a video on X on Tuesday, November 3, showing how he voted from his sleeping compartment, which he called his "voting booth". He used a computer inside the room to complete and submit his ballot."Yes, you can even vote from space! All three U.S. crew members had the privilege of voting from space station. We filled out an electronic ballot and sent it securely to the election officials," Menon wrote on X.Check live coverage of the 2026 US midterms here.Anil Menon shows his voting booth aboard ISSIn the video, Menon gives a look inside his small sleeping compartment, where he completed the US midterm voting process using his computer. He then sent the electronic ballot to Harris County, which handles voting for many NASA astronauts because it is home to the agency's Johnson Space Center and Mission Control in Houston.The three astronauts followed the same process to make sure their votes reached election officials despite being away from Earth.Also Read: Trump jokes he could move to Israel and become their prime minister if Americans get ‘tired of him’How do NASA astronauts vote from space?Voting from space is possible because Texas passed a law in 1997 allowing astronauts to cast their ballots while on space missions.According to NASA, astronauts first submit a Federal Post Card Application to request an absentee ballot. Once they receive the electronic ballot, they fill it out aboard the ISS and send it through NASA's communication system.The ballot travels through the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to a ground antenna at NASA's White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. NASA then transfers it to Johnson Space Center in Houston before sending it to the relevant county clerk.The process also protects the privacy of each vote. NASA said the ballot is encrypted and can only be accessed by the astronaut and the county clerk responsible for counting it.Also Read: US midterms: What six leading forecasters predict about 2026 election outcomeWho was the first astronaut to vote from space?NASA astronauts have been voting from space since 1997. The first to do so was David Wolf, who cast his ballot while living aboard Russia's Mir space station.The International Space Station did not receive its first crew until November 2000, so Wolf's vote came from a different space laboratory.Menon arrived at the ISS in July 2026 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Watkins and Delaney joined him on October 1 as part of SpaceX's Crew-13 mission.The three Americans are currently living aboard the ISS with four other crew members from Canada and Russia.