No Ballot Box in Space for Cosmonauts

MOSCOW —  Russia’s orbiting cosmonauts are unhappy because they didn’t get a chance to vote in Sunday’s elections.

Cosmonauts Alexander Serebrov and Vasily Tsibliyev told mission control they were “rather upset” after finding out that no provisions had been made for them to cast ballots from space.

Ekrem Koneyev, a spokesman for mission control, said the cosmonauts, who have been in space for 164 days, were unhappy because “the election commission has not thought about them, and has not worked out a voting procedure in space.”

The cosmonauts were originally to return to Earth on Nov. 23, but their mission was extended until January because the Russian space agency lacks a Soyuz booster rocket capable of sending a replacement crew to the Mir space station.