The Duval County Supervisor of Elections is mailing 34,198 vote-by-mail ballots to voters who requested them for the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election.

Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland announced the mailing on Monday, Sept. 28. Democrats account for the largest share of requests at 17,407, followed by Republicans at 11,162, voters with no party affiliation at 4,914 and other parties at 715. The figure covers all of Duval County, which includes Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Jacksonville Beach.

Holland urged voters not to wait until Election Day to cast their ballots.

"We recommend voting by mail to avoid lines and to ensure nothing gets in the way of you casting your vote," Holland said. "If you wait until Election Day, something could come up, which is why it is so important to make a plan to vote."

Voters who have not yet requested a mail ballot still have time. The deadline is Thursday, Oct. 22, at 5 p.m. Requests can be made at duvalelections.gov, by phone at 904-255-VOTE (8683), in person or by sending a signed written request by email, fax or mail.

One important change under Florida law: voters must submit a new vote-by-mail request after every general election. A request from a previous cycle does not carry over.

Completed ballots must reach the elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Voters can track their ballot status and watch an instructional video on how to properly fill out a mail ballot at duvalelections.gov.

The county's Canvassing Board is scheduled to begin opening and processing returned mail ballots on Monday, Oct. 5, according to a public notice from the elections office. That processing continues through Election Day.

The office had already sent 2,519 ballots to military and overseas voters on Sept. 17, according to a separate announcement. Of those, 1,373 went by mail and 1,194 by email, meeting the federal deadline under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).

Sample ballots for the general election are available at duvalelections.gov.