COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Ohio’s Secretary of State said more than 193,000 people statewide chose to vote early last week.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose said 193,021 Ohioans voted during the first week of early voting, more than three times the 64,312 who voted during the same time period in 2016.

In addition, 316,033 Ohioans requested absentee ballots for the November election, bringing the total requests to 2,470,268, far exceeding the 1,245,670 absentee ballots in the same time period four years ago.

“Voter enthusiasm is off the charts and we couldn’t be happier,” LaRose said in a press release announcing the numbers. “We’ve never seen this many people voting early in-person and it demonstrates what Ohioans know to be true – it’s easy to vote in the Buckeye State!”

Ohio offers a total of 216 hours of early voting from early October to Nov. 2, according to the release.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot is noon on Oct. 31, but election and postal officials are urging people not to wait that long if they want their ballot to arrive on time. Mailed absentee ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 2; voters can drop off their ballots at secured drop boxes at county boards of election until Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

The hours for early in-person voting are:

• October 12-16: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• October 19-23: 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• October 24: 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• October 25: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• October 26-30: 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
• October 31: 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• November 1: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• November 2: 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.