NASA astronaut says voting is 'critical' to democracy so she plans to cast an absentee ballot from space

• NASA astronaut Kate Rubins will be in space during the upcoming general election, but won't let that stop her from voting.
• "We consider it an honor to be able to vote from space, and so we fill out a form and we vote via absentee ballot," she told the Associated Press.
• Texas, where most US astronauts live, allows them to vote via a secure electronic ballot, which, once completed, is forwarded to the country clerk by Mission Control.
• "I think it's really important for everybody to vote, and if we can do it from space, then I believe folks can do it from the ground too," Rubins told AP.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins plans to vote from space during the upcoming general election.

Rubins told The Associated Press on Friday that astronauts cast votes from the orbit because they "feel that it's very important."

"It's critical to participate in our democracy," she said. "We consider it an honor to be able to vote from space, and so we fill out a form and we vote via absentee ballot, and I plan on doing that in November."

Rubins is in Star City, Russia, the AP reported, where she is getting ready for a mid-October launch to the International Space Station. She will spend six months there.

Most American astronauts live in Houston, Texas, the AP said. The state's law permits them to use a secure electronic ballot to cast a vote, which Mission Control sends to the county clerk, once it's completed.

"I think it's really important for everybody to vote, and if we can do it from space, then I believe folks can do it from the ground too," Rubins said.

Rubins and her fellow astronaut Shane Kimbrough voted from space during the 2016 presidential election, per AP.

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• The Trump campaign is reportedly planning a way to bypass the 2020 election results in key swing states
• How Black Americans still face disproportionate barriers to the ballot box in 2020