Georgia voters planning to cast their ballots by mail in the upcoming midterm elections have until Friday, Oct. 23, to request an absentee ballot.

According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, Friday is the final day to request a ballot ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

The deadline is intended to give voters enough time to receive, complete and return their ballots before Election Day.

Under Georgia law, completed absentee ballots must be received by a voter’s county elections office no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.

State election data shows more than 157,000 absentee ballots have been requested for the general election, but only about 68,000 have been returned and accepted so far.

Absentee ballot requests are down by more than 120,000 compared to the 2022 midterm elections.

While absentee voting has declined compared to four years ago, early in-person voting has been breaking records across Georgia.

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