Trending

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins plans to vote from space station

Every vote counts. Even a long-distance one.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins said she plans to vote in the presidential election from space at the International Space Station, according to The Associated Press.

Rubins, who lives in the Houston area, will be 200 miles above the Earth when Nov. 3 rolls around. She currently is in the Moscow suburb of Star City, preparing with two cosmonauts for a mid-October launch and will stay at the space station for six months, according to the AP.

“I think it’s really important for everybody to vote,” Rubins said. “If we can do it from space, then I believe folks can do it from the ground, too.”

Most U.S. astronauts live in Houston and are allowed to take advantage of a Texas law that allows them to vote from space. The astronauts cast their votes by using a secure electronic ballot. Mission Control forwards the absentee ballot to the space station and relays the completed ballot back to the county clerk, according to the AP.

“It’s critical to participate in our democracy,” Rubins said in a video call. “We consider it an honor to be able to vote from space.”

It’s not the first time an astronaut has voted from space. In 2016, Shane Kimbrough also cast his ballot from the International Space Station.