OPINION: Voting wherever you are

The other day, an article by NASA came up that got me thinking. With astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams stuck in space until February 2025, they will be voting on the International Space Station.

Voting in space isn’t something I ever thought about, but it happens every year for American astronauts, and I’m sure astronauts of other countries do the same.

In 1997, David Wolf became the first American to vote in space, doing so from the Mir Space Station. This was the same year the Texas Legislature passed a bill allowing NASA astronauts to vote in space. Texas had to pass the law rather than another state because NASA’s homebase, as well as many astronauts’ homes, are in Houston, Texas.

In order for an astronaut to vote, they normally start the process before heading to the stars. Before leaving, the astronaut will identify which election they will be in space for. Once in space, an encrypted electronic ballot is sent to the astronaut via NASA’s mission control. Each astronaut has their own credentials and passwords they use to access their ballots. Once filled out, the astronauts send them back to Earth and to Harris County in Texas to be counted.

While this whole process has been done numerous times since 1997, the 2020 presidential election was the first time it was done on the International Space Station, with Kate Rubins casting the vote.

For this election, Wilmore and Williams are an unexpected addition to the ISS voting booth. Though I know both will still be able to vote, I wonder what changes in procedure had to happen, since it is normally planned ahead of time. Both astronauts have mentioned the importance of voting, despite being in space.

Living in space isn’t the only time voting can be tricky. Every year, more than 150,000 actively deployed U.S. troops are in need of absentee ballots in various regions of the world.

While getting an absentee ballot in country for citizens is pretty easy, it’s a little more complicated for deployed military members. First, one must complete the Federal Post Card Application annually. This can be done online, via a printed PDF or one can pick up a hard copy from their unit voting assistance officer. Questions include residence, military classification and where the ballot will be sent to.

Once the application is finished and sent to one’s local election office, the military personnel should be good to go until receiving the ballot. The time in which a deployed military person must have their ballot mailed by depends on where they are. This year, for those on a ship at sea, the ballot must be mailed by Oct. 1. For those simply outside the U.S., the ballot must be mailed by Oct. 24. For those who are deployed in the U.S., the ballot must be mailed by Oct. 31.

If the ballot is not received in time, an emergency backup ballot can be requested from the voting assistance officer. In most states, a voter must have previously filled out the Federal Post Card Application to submit an emergency ballot.

Well, what if you aren’t an astronaut and aren’t in the military, but still are residing outside of the U.S.? Maybe you’re a missionary, studying abroad or simply found a job somewhere new.

Voting while abroad for citizens is pretty similar to military personnel. One must still fill out a Federal Post Card Application every year. However, where one lists as their “voting residence address” changes.

For someone in the military, they often still have a permanent home in the U.S. which they can write down. For citizens overseas, they might not have a permanent residence in the U.S. anymore. Instead, one should write down the last home residence they lived in and moved from prior to moving abroad.

The rest of one’s voting journey is the same as those in the military. An absentee ballot will be sent in the mail and should be returned sooner than later. While there are no exact earlier dates for citizens, the ballot should be postmarked on or before election day, the earlier the better.

This would not have been the case for me when I studied abroad. Though I should have paid attention, since the elections while I was out of the U.S. were not presidential, I mostly ignored them and didn’t request an absentee ballot. If I had wanted to, I would have put the residence of my parents, with whom I was still permanently living at the time.

Absentee ballots aren’t only for those who live far away. Whether you’re in the hospital, stuck at home or in college, you too can request an absentee ballot. In Iowa, any registered voter can bet an absentee ballot. A request form must be filled out and either mailed or hand delivered to your county auditor no later than 5 p.m. 15 days before the election. That means you still have until Monday, Oct. 21 to request one.

Whether you’re in space, across the pond or in Creston, your vote and voice matters. Make sure to get out there and vote Nov. 5, whether in person or absentee.