First Vote From Space

For the first time in history, an American astronaut is about to exercise his right to vote while in orbit. A ballot has been sent to David Wolf, above, aboard the Russian space station Mir, thanks to a new Texas law. In June, Gov. George W. Bush signed a bill saying astronauts registered to vote in Texas, where most of them live, can cast ballots from space. Using new software developed by NASA, a ballot last week was sent to U.S. flight controllers in Moscow, and they transmitted it by e-mail to Wolf 240 miles above Earth for Tuesday’s election.