HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – More than 1.7 million mail ballots have been requested for Pennsylvania's November 5 election, according to the Department of State.

The daily update provided by the Department of State shows that as of 8 a.m. on October 16, there have been 1,729,695 applications approved for mail ballots.

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This Week in Pennsylvania

Of the more than 1.7 million requested ballots, applications were approved for 1,024,284 registered Democrats. Registered Republicans so far have been approved for 498,926 mail ballots and the remaining 206,485 ballots were requested by Independent or third-party registered voters.

This means 59% of approved mail ballot applications thus far are from registered Democrats and nearly 29% of approved requesters are registered Republicans. So far the counties with the most mail ballot applications approved are Allegheny, Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, York, Lehigh, and Northampton counties.

As of 8 a.m., there have been 631,725 ballots returned to county boards of election.

Comparatively, in 2020 there were 2.7 million mail ballots cast in Pennsylvania and more than 6.9 million people voted in the election.

Pennsylvania law restricts counties from opening ballots until Election Day. Just because a ballot was requested by a registered voter of that party does not necessarily mean they voted for only members of their party.

If you are interested in requesting a mail ballot, you can visit Vote.Pa.gov or your local county board of election.

The last day to register to vote is October 21, the last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot is October 29, and ballots must be returned to your county Board of Election by 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 5.