This American astronaut voted from space. Here's how she did it

Hi. Yeah. You know, this year is unlike any other. You want to head to the polls and vote in person, But are the polls safe? You might have to stand in line inside for up to an hour, maybe even mawr, just to fill out your ballot. So what do the polls look like? Inside, Anyway? I am taking you through the voting process step by step to show you exactly what you can expect and some tricks along the way to help you stay safe. You've seen the lines early voting has started, and from North Carolina to New Mexico to Louisiana, many polling sites have rolled out new safety measures. So what is it like to go through the voting process at the polls? Soup to nuts from beginning to end. They've already had hundreds of people here for early voting, and you just can think what it's gonna be like on Election Day. This is a senior center. People have been socially distanced all day. Come on in. I'm gonna walk you through the process. And we wanted to wait until they were finished with their early voting for the day. So we didn't interrupt anyone you're immediately greeted by this. A table full of hand sanitizer. Don't mind if I do, actually, on bare arm asks if you forgot one at home and even gloves. If you want to be extra safe, you immediately. Once your time is up in line, you come here to one of the ah poll volunteers and they have plexiglass up this year. I'm sure you're happy about that to protect you. And this protects you as well. So what would normally happen you would ask me from I would ask you for your first and last name first and last name right. They also need me to verify my address. And in many states, you may need to show i d. Once you're verified, the computer will print out a custom bar code sticker in that bar code is basically my personal information on my personal reference number. That makes me sad. Everything. Some states will use the barcode. Others will scan your license. But either way, your personal information is assigned to your ballot. Once you fill this out, you're going to slip it into this envelope and sign your name at the top line. You guys were awesome, because these were all sanitized right there, sanitizing every pen. So I'm gonna come. Come and choose this one over here. Hey, guys, how are you? Thank you for helping. And if you look, all the voting machines were pretty spaced out right there, all 6 ft apart. So I have my pen, my ballot, and this is what you dio. By the way, here's a tip. You can bring your own pen from home. As long as it's black ink. It does the job. And if your location uses touch screen voting machines, bring your own stylists or rubber gloves. It's allowed whatever makes you feel safe. You put it in like this and walk over here and we grab the pen and you want us to return the use pens right and interesting. This year you don't want us licking. No, you don't want this. So they have glue. They have glue here to close this up. Has this blue been sanitized? Yes, it has. And I verify that your signature is there. You voted My signature is there and I drop it out. But in the booth and that's it, that's all. And of course who wants to stand in long lines near other people for long periods of time. Instead, vote during off peak times from 8 to 11:30 a.m. and from 1:30 p.m. To 4:30 p.m. If your state does allow early voting, take advantage. So you're not with the crowds on Election Day. Do you think voting is safe this year? Absolutely. It's basically kind of contact list it is. I mean, there's nothing that you're touching it or that were touching it all. And you're doing it all yourself, and we make everything available for you to make it safe. If you do plan on voting early, I'm hearing from a lot of you saying, Well, hold on a minute. Are they going to count my early vote? My early ballot into election night results? When do early votes get processed and counted? It really goes state by state. And we have a full state by state breakdown. When your state we'll be counting early ballots when you'll see it reflected in the total tally. It's on my Web site right now. Rawson reports dot com back to you

Video above: How safe is voting in person?NASA astronaut Kate Rubins casting her vote from some 200 miles above Earth should be all the motivation you need to make a plan to vote this year.Rubins, the only American voter not currently on Earth, said she was able to vote from the International Space Station last week.This isn't the first time Rubins has cast her ballot from space: She voted in 2016 when she was also researching at the space station.Rubins, along with two Russian cosmonauts, began their mission earlier this month and will spend a total of six months in space as part of the Expedition 63/64 crew. Rubins will research "the use of laser-cooled atoms for future quantum sensors" and conduct cardiovascular experiments from the space station, according to NASA.How to vote from spaceAstronauts registered to vote in Texas got the right to vote from space in 1997, when Texas lawmakers ruled they could electronically cast their ballot off-planet if they'd be on a spaceflight during the early-voting period or Election Day, according to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. NASA's Johnson Space Center is located in Houston, so most astronauts are based in the city and registered to vote in Harris County, where Houston is located.The space-voting process works like this, NASA told CNN last month: The Harris County Clerk's Office uploads a secure electronic ballot to NASA's Johnson Space Center Mission Control Center. NASA astronauts, using specific credentials, access their ballot and cast their vote, which is delivered back to the county clerk's office by email.

Video above: How safe is voting in person?

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins casting her vote from some 200 miles above Earth should be all the motivation you need to make a plan to vote this year.

Rubins, the only American voter not currently on Earth, said she was able to vote from the International Space Station last week.

This isn't the first time Rubins has cast her ballot from space: She voted in 2016 when she was also researching at the space station.

Rubins, along with two Russian cosmonauts, began their mission earlier this month and will spend a total of six months in space as part of the Expedition 63/64 crew. Rubins will research "the use of laser-cooled atoms for future quantum sensors" and conduct cardiovascular experiments from the space station, .

How to vote from space

Astronauts registered to vote in Texas got the right to vote from space in 1997, when Texas lawmakers ruled they could electronically cast their ballot off-planet if they'd be on a spaceflight during the early-voting period or Election Day, according to the . NASA's Johnson Space Center is located in Houston, so most astronauts are based in the city and registered to vote in Harris County, where Houston is located.

The space-voting process , NASA told CNN last month: The Harris County Clerk's Office uploads a secure electronic ballot to NASA's Johnson Space Center Mission Control Center. NASA astronauts, using specific credentials, access their ballot and cast their vote, which is delivered back to the county clerk's office by email.

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