"Proud to Be American": Sunita Williams and Astronauts Vote from Space, Share Photos on Election Day

Washington: On U.S. Election Day, astronauts Butch Wilmore, Sunita Williams, and Don Pettit shared a photo on Instagram wearing socks in patriotic colors. Two of the astronauts' socks featured the message "Proud to be American."

The Texas Harris County Clerk of Court's Office reported that the three astronauts cast their early presidential ballots from the International Space Station.

“It doesn’t matter if you are sitting, standing, or floating  - what matters is that you vote!”, American astronaut Nick Hague shared on X.

In Harris County, Texas, over 1.2 million individuals, including the astronauts, cast early ballots for the election.

Know how astronauts in International Space Station cast their votes

Ballots cast in space are transmitted to Earth through NASA's Near Space Network, a network of satellites in orbit that connect to antennas on the ground, similar to how most data is relayed between the space station and mission control. 

Voting from space has been an option for American astronauts since 1997, when the Texas Legislature passed a bill allowing "a person who meets the eligibility requirements of a voter… but who will be on a space flight during the early-voting period and on election day”.