Photo illustration by Iowa Capital Dispatch More than 800,000 Iowans have requested absentee ballots to vote early this general election.

More than 800,000 Iowans have requested absentee ballots to vote early this general election, according to the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office.

Out of the 807,513 Iowans who requested ballots as of Tuesday, 405,354 of them are Democrats. Republicans requested 249,539 ballots and independents requested 149,473.

The Secretary of State’s Office reported on Monday that 513,782 voters have already returned their ballots.

The number of absentee ballot requests for the general election nearly doubles the 411,767 ballots that were cast during the June 2 primary.

Deadline fast approaching to request absentee ballot

Iowans who still want to vote through an absentee ballot must ensure their written requests are received by their local auditor’s office by 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24.

After receiving the request form, the county auditor will mail the voter an absentee ballot, along with instructions on how to mark and return it.

Voters can return their absentee ballots by mail, but they must be postmarked by the Monday before Election Day and received by their county auditor’s office no later than noon on the Monday following the Nov. 3 election, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

An absentee ballot cannot be delivered to a voter’s polling place on Election Day, but it can be delivered to the county auditor’s office before polls close on Election Day.

Voters may also surrender their absentee ballots at their polling place and vote through regular ballots instead. They may also cast provisional ballots if they cannot surrender absentee ballots.

More than 800,000 Iowans request absentee ballots as deadline approaches