From space station to polling station

                                     By Gideon Alon, Ha'aretz Correspondent




                                     Israel's first astronaut, who is due 
to blast off aboard the space shuttle 12 days before
                                     the general election, will also become 
the first citizen to cast his vote from a height of 500
                                     kilometers above the earth's surface.

                                     The Director General of the Science, 
Culture, and Sport Ministry, David Lefler, has asked
                                     the Knesset's Central Elections 
Committee to find a solution that would enable Air Force
                                     Colonel Ilan Ramon, to participate in 
the upcoming Knesset elections while he is in space.

                                     Ramon is slated to be on board the 
Colombia space shuttle, which is currently scheduled
                                     to take off on January 16, 2003, 12 
days before the rest of countrymen and women go
                                     the polls. The date of the launch has 
not yet been finalized by NASA.

                                     The Central Elections Committee told 
Lefler that it has no objection to Ramon voting from
                                     outside the earth's stratosphere, and 
the Science, Culture, and Sports Ministry is currently
                                     checking the logistical preparations 
necessary for the vote to take place which include
                                     obtaining NASA's approval for the 
procedure and ensuring that Ramon's vote remain a
                                     secret. After the preparations are 
made, Ramon will be able to carry out his civic duty and
                                     vote for the Knesset, from space.

                                     According to the chairman of the 
Elections committee, "anyone who is employed by the
                                     state and is out of the country 
because of his work at the time of the election, is
                                     guaranteed the right to vote."


Rick Pildes				
Professor of Law, New York University School of Law	
40 Washington Sq. South
Room 322-B
New York, NY 10012-1099
also reachable at:  rick.pildes@nyu.edu
o:  212 998-6377
fax:  212 995-4341
http://www.law.nyu.edu/faculty/profiles/bios/pildesr_bio.html