Three American astronauts aboard the International Space Station exercised their right to vote from Earth orbit in the US midterm congressional elections, held this Tuesday. They are Anil Menon, Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, who took part in an election that will determine control of Congress during the final two years of President Donald Trump's term.
Menon celebrated their participation in a post on the social network X, in which he wrote: "Yes, you can even vote from space!" The astronaut explained that the process was carried out without the need to be physically on US territory. "The three American members of the crew had the privilege of voting from the space station. We filled out an electronic ballot and securely sent it to the election officials," he detailed. In a version disseminated by the agency Europa Press, the message was reported in a similar way, and in a video shared from his account the astronaut used an equivalent wording to describe the procedure.
The head of the US space agency, Jared Isaacman, also highlighted the participation of the three astronauts on election day. "Off the planet and still they show up to vote," he said, stressing that the right to vote can be exercised even during a space mission. The mention of NASA places the episode within the framework of a practice that allows citizens who are outside the country, for professional reasons, to take part in the election.
The vote takes place in an election that is decisive for the country's political direction. Voters were called upon to renew the 435 seats of the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate. The result will mark the room for maneuver of the Trump Administration over the next two years, in addition to conditioning the White House's legislative agenda and the strategies of Republicans and Democrats ahead of the next presidential contest.
According to analysts cited by American media, all polls indicated that the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, could fall under Democratic control. The elections also constitute the starting point of the race toward the 2028 presidential elections, so the new balance of power in Congress will influence how candidacies and debates are shaped ahead of that contest.
Reports on election day also covered other episodes of the voting. The CNN network reported that a problem with ballot scanning in Westchester, New York, could cause significant delays in the results for a key House of Representatives seat and, if not resolved, force a manual recount of votes until late into the night. Both candidates in New York's 17th district, a highly competitive area, assured that all votes will be counted. Republican Mike Lawler wrote on X: "Stay in line and vote. Don't leave the polling place without voting."