ATLANTA — Thousands of voters in three metro Atlanta counties could be affected by delays in receiving their absentee ballots, with just one week remaining until Election Day.

Democratic Party of Georgia Chairman Charlie Bailey says the delays could affect as many as 10,000 voters in Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties.

“According to information from the Secretary of State’s website and the first hand accounts from Georgia voters, some requested mail ballots in those three counties have been majorly delayed,” Bailey said.

Bailey says the delays are being caused by a third-party vendor rather than the counties themselves. He also says voters in other Georgia counties do not appear to be affected.

The vendor has been contacted for comment, but no response has been received.

With early voting ending Friday, Oct. 30, Bailey is encouraging affected voters to consider casting their ballots in person instead of waiting for their absentee ballots to arrive.

“It’s making it even more important for folks that live there in those counties to vote early in person if that is possible for them,” Bailey said.

According to data from the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, approximately 165,000 absentee ballots have been requested statewide, but only about 91,000 have been returned and accepted.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot passed Friday, Oct. 23.

Voters who have already received their absentee ballots but would rather vote in person can bring their ballots to their polling locations. A poll manager can void the absentee ballot and allow them to cast their vote in person.

Those who requested an absentee ballot but have not received it can also vote in person after completing a form with their county requesting cancellation of the absentee ballot.

For voters planning to return their absentee ballots, completed ballots must arrive at their county elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, to be counted.

Early in-person voting continues through Friday, Oct. 30.

WSB Radio’s Ashley Simmons & Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story.