AMES, Iowa - Absentee ballots for November's election are set to be mailed out to Iowa voters Monday.
Story County Auditor Lucy Martin says her office will be mailing out nearly four times the number of absentee ballots they normally do on the first day.
“We are set to mail an unprecedented number of absentee ballots on Monday morning, said Martin. Normally, we mail about 4,000 ballots on the first day. This year, it’s over 18,000.”
Martin said it's now taking 2-3 days for mail to get from her office out to residents in the county.
A record number of mail-in votes are expected in Iowa and across the country because of the pandemic.
Iowa lawmakers allowed Secretary of State Paul Pate to mail absentee ballot request forms to every voter in the state.
They also unanimously approved Pate's request to allow counties to begin the process of opening the outer absentee ballot envelopes on the Saturday before Election Day, rather than the traditional day before.