DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowa could set a record for absentee voting in November's election.
Absentee ballots were sent out Monday, with more than a third of Polk County voters requesting them. There are roughly 305,000 registered voters in the county, and Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald mailed out more than 112,000 absentee ballots.
Nearly four times the normal number of absentee ballots were mailed out in Story County on the first day. The county usually sends out 4,000 ballots, but that number totaled more than 18,000 this year.
The Dallas County Auditor's Office mailed more than 21,000 absentee ballots Monday, the first day absentee voting is allowed, 29 days before the election.
Secretary of State Paul Pate says more than 630,000 people have asked for early ballots.
Anyone wanting to vote early will have until October 24th to request a ballot.
In order to count, the ballots have to be received by county auditors, by the time polls close Election Day., November 3rd or be postmarked by November 2nd.
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.
According the Polk County’s Fitzgerald, 684 voters had cast ballots in person early in the Polk County Election Office as of 3 pm Monday.
(Image from Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald)