Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has a message for people who plan to vote absentee but have not yet requested their mail-in ballot.

Do it now.

Officially, the deadline for requesting a mail-in ballot is Saturday at noon, but LaRose says that if you wait until then, you may not receive that ballot until after the election is over.

And he’s also advising people not to hold on to those ballots when they get them, but to return them as soon as possible.

A ballot must be postmarked no later than November 2nd for it to be counted.

People can also place their absentee ballot in the drop box (pictured) at the Hancock County Board of Elections up until 7:30 p.m. on election day, Tuesday, November 3rd.

A record number of voters have requested an absentee ballot for this election.

Click here for a list of candidates and issues on the ballot in Hancock County.