TEMPLE, Texas -- Americans across the United States have been casting their ballots over the last few weeks, but believe it or not, some votes have come in from out of this world.

Four Americans are currently aboard the International Space Station this election day, according to Space.com, but thanks to technology, they are still able to cast their ballots from miles above the Earth.

So, how does it work? NASA explained the process works through their Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) Program.

NASA said votes are transmitted from space similar to the way most data is, being transmitted from the International Space Station to the Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center in Houston through NASA's Near Space Network, which connects missions within 1.2 million miles of Earth with communications and navigation services.

Astronauts can fill out a Federal Post Card Application to request an absentee ballot just like any other American who is away from home during the election.

Astronauts fill out an electronic ballot aboard the station, which is then sent through NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to a ground antenna at the agency's White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico, said NASA.

From there, the ballots are transferred to to the Johnson Space Center and then to the county clerk responsible for the astronaut's ballot. To protect the vote, the ballot is encrypted and accessible only to the astronaut and the county clerk, NASA said.

According to NASA, astronauts have voted from space since 1997, when the Texas Legislature passed a bill allowing it. David Wolf reportedly became the first person to vote from space that same year while aboard the Mir Space Station.

NASA shared a picture of astronauts Loral O'Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli after they cast their absentee ballots from the ISS in March 2024, voting as Texas residents.

Interestingly enough, while astronauts can vote in elections from space, they are not allowed to publicly endorse any political candidates or parties due to the Hatch Act, which prohibits some civil-service employees from participating in certain forms of political activity, according to Space.com.