Astronauts stranded on the ISS, NASA will be given the opportunity to vote in the US presidential election

American astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry *Butch* Wilmore aboard the Starliner 5 spacecraft set off on an eight-day mission to the international space station in early June. But due to unexpected technical problems with the Starliner capsule, which was manufactured by Boeing, the crew was delayed in space, and they will stay there not an extra 1-2 weeks, but until February 2025.

Due to the force majeure, the astronauts will not be able to be present in the U.S. during the presidential election. But since the mission in space is not a reason not to fulfil their civic duty and be apolitical, NASA will give astronauts the opportunity to vote.

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According to NBC News, NASA will send astronauts an electronic ballot in the form of a PDF document. It will be password protected and will give astronauts the opportunity to tick the name of a candidate they think is worthy.

"This is a very important role entrusted to us as U.S. citizens and we are pleased that NASA is allowing us to do this seamlessly," Wilmore said.

Such voting has taken place before, because according to a 1997 Texas law, U.S. astronauts can vote from space because they live and work in Houston, Texas, when they are not in orbit. The only difference, in previous missions it was possible to prepare ballots in advance, but now they had to improvise.

Source: NBC News