WTF - Astronauts To Vote From Space

[Are_grits_groceries]

Commander Mike Fincke (right) and Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff send a special message from the International Space Station urging all Americans to vote. Credit: NASA TV


Commander Edward Michael Fincke and Flight Engineer and Science Officer Greg Chamitoff are living and working onboard the International Space Station. Though they are 220 miles above Earth and orbiting at 17,500 miles per hour, they will still be able to participate in the upcoming election. A 1997 bill passed by Texas legislators sets up a technical procedure for astronauts -- nearly all of whom live in Houston -- to vote from space.

A secure electronic ballot, generated by the Harris and Brazoria County Clerk's office, is uplinked by NASA's Johnson Space Center Mission Control Center. An e-mail with crew member-specific credentials is sent from the County Clerk to the crew member. These credentials allow the crew member to access the secure ballot.

The astronauts will cast their votes and a secure completed ballot is downlinked and delivered back to the County Clerk’s Office by e-mail to be officially recorded.

http://www.physorg.com/news144350218.html

If the can effing figure out how to do this, then somebody can figure out how to design secure systems so that we don't

have brazillions of lines with brazillions of people in them. I want to see 3 forms of ID from them too.

[av8rdave]

1. What do you bet their votes get flipped

Besides, they get what, maybe a second and a half that they're actually over their precinct?

[JVS]

2. This just in, 300,000 to 0 in favor of McCain from the outer space precinct.

[Dogmudgeon]

3. You are against this?

WTF, indeed.

I look at it this way -- what better way to back up auditable, open-source electronic voting than if people can say, "if they can set up a system to allow astronauts to vote, why can't they set up a system to allow US to vote?"

If it's a party thing, keep in mind that a whole lot of astronauts are Democrats, and NASA tends to be more liberal than the average in Orlando or Houston.

--p!

[Are_grits_groceries]

5. No I'm not against it.

My WTF was because they could spend the time to do it, and not the time to set up something for the whole populace.

I don't expect NASA to handle the elections, but if the admin or whoever wants to get credit for this event, they need

to be ready to apply the technology.

[KamaAina]

4. As long as they're not on Mars

it's the "Red Planet", you know. :P