The Butler County Bureau of Elections reminds county residents that as they receive an influx of blank mail-in applications, voters only need to fill out one application per election.

The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is Oct. 29, but the bureau recommends people apply earlier if sending the application by mail. Oct. 29 also is the deadline for coming into the office and requesting a ballot, according to Chantell McCurdy, director of elections.

“Waiting until this deadline to apply through the mail may significantly increase the chance of the voter either not getting the ballot on time or … the ballot not making it back to our office on time,” McCurdy said.

Mail-in ballots cannot be forwarded by USPS.

“If a person has mail forwarding on for their residence, the ballot will instead come back to our office as undeliverable,” McCurdy said.

About 90% of calls received by the bureau are about absentee and mail-in ballots, she stated.

A number of misunderstandings have led to an increase in phone calls to the office: these include duplicate applications that must be processed, leading to voters receiving a letter from the bureau; voters who believe their ballot can be forwarded and are confused when they do not receive it in the mail; and people filling out the envelopes incompletely or incorrectly, McCurdy said.