(Photo : NASA/Liaison)
060280 01: Astronaut David Scott gives salute beside the U.S. flag July 30, 1971 on the moon during the Apollo 15 mission

Josh Cassada, a NASA astronaut, transformed his bunk bed on board the International Space Station (ISS) into a voting booth so that he could cast his ballot for the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday, Nov. 8, as reported first by Space.com.

"I've voted my entire adult life, but this year's voting booth definitely takes the cake. So thankful to everyone - especially Democracy - for allowing me to remain part of this essential process this year," Cassada wrote in a tweet.

Eligible Voters at the ISS

Cassada and the other American astronauts who are currently stationed at the ISS are allowed to cast absentee ballots. But to do this, the astronaut must complete a Federal Postcard Application ballot before they travel to the space station.

The astronauts on board the ISS who are allowed to vote for the midterm elections include: Frank Rubio, the first Salvadoran-American in space; Loral O' Hara; Bob Hines; Jessica Watkins, the first Black woman to join a long-duration flight; Kjell Lindgren, an American citizen living in Taiwan; and Nicole, the first-ever Native American woman in space.

Space.com noted that in recent months, NASA has taken the top spot on the political agenda. With the passing of the CHIPS Act this summer, US president Joe Biden reaffirmed the agency's pledge to stay on the ISS until 2030.

The White House also gave the space agency a $23 billion request for NASA's 2023 budget and pledged to land astronauts on Mars by 2040.

There is also a trend of government-backed military space ventures in recent years with the formation of a new US Space Force unit that promised to provide "critical intelligence on threat systems, foreign intentions, and activities in the space domain."

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How Do Astronauts Vote in Space?

When NASA's Kate Rubins was residing in the orbiting lab in November 2020, a video Q&A was created in which she described how voting off-Earth works.

A Federal Postcard Application (FPCA) was completed by Rubins before entering the space station. The FPCA also provides coverage for military troops and their families who are stationed away from home during an election.

According to NASA, the majority of astronauts who opt to cast ballots while in orbit relocate to Texas for training before their missions and they do so as residents of Texas.

Astronauts may legally cast ballots from space using an absentee voting system with the address "low Earth orbit," according to a 1997 Texas legislation.

NASA must confirm that a ballot can be completed before an astronaut can cast one. A test ballot is sent by the county clerk to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, where a computer used for training on the space station determines whether it can be completed and returned to the clerk.

The ballot is encrypted and forwarded to the astronaut on the ISS if it passes the test. Prior to opening the ballot, the clerk provides the voting team member with particular credentials for increased security.

The astronaut electronically fills out the ballot, then emails it to the county clerk to be recorded as a vote. An additional layer of security is provided by the clerk's password, which only they can use to access the email.

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Written by Jace Dela Cruz