The NASA astronauts stuck in space are still planning to participate in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams have been in space since June 5, when they set off for what was supposed to be an eight-day trip to the International Space Station — but due to mechanical issues with their Boeing Starliner shuttle, NASA announced that the earliest they’ll be able to go home is February 2025.
On Sept. 13, the astronauts told reporters during a call that despite the setback, they have requested absentee ballots so that they can still cast their vote for the election.
“I sent down my request for a ballot today. As a matter of fact, they should get it to us in a couple of weeks,” Wilmore, 61, said. “It’s a very important role that we all play as citizens, to be included in those elections, and NASA makes it very easy for us to do that. So we’re excited about that opportunity.”
Williams, 58, added, “It’s a very important duty that we have as citizens and looking forward to being able to vote from space, which is pretty cool.”
Election officials in Houston, Texas — where NASA’s Johnson Space Center is based — told NBC News that they are working with NASA to send a PDF password-protected ballot to the astronauts.
“Before sending the astronauts their ballot, it is transferred to a fillable document so that they can make their selections, save it, and send it back,” Rosio Torres-Segura, a spokesperson for the county clerk, told the outlet. “A test ballot with a unique password is always sent first. Once they vote on their live ballot, it is returned, printed, and processed with other ballots.”
NICHOLAS KAMM/NASA/AFP via Getty
Most U.S. astronauts reside in Houston, where Texas law allows them to vote from space using a secure electronic ballot process. Mission Control then forwards the ballot to the space station and relays the completed ballot back to the county clerk.
According to a post from NASA’s official Tumblr account, astronaut David Wolf was the first American to vote from space in 1997, the same year the Texas law was passed.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer??, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The need to vote from space was the result of longer missions — as NPR reported, the typical mission on the since-retired Space Shuttle was less than two weeks. However, nowadays astronauts can be on the International Space Station for months at a time.
For astronauts, the voting process starts a year before launch, when they are able to select which elections — local, state or federal — they wish to participate in while in space.
Wilmore and Williams were originally expected to return to Earth on June 14. Despite being stuck in space, the astronauts spoke about spending time on the ISS in July, assuring they’re okay.
Williams expressed confidence in NASA, saying she has “a real good feeling in my heart that the spacecraft will bring us home, no problem.”
Wilmore, meanwhile, shared the same sentiment. “That mantra you’ve heard, failure is not an option. And that’s why we’re staying here now,” he said.
