Ohio voters seeking absentee ballots

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - County boards of elections in Ohio have received an estimated 484,000 absentee ballot applications so far, as the presidential battleground state prepares for the fall election.

Ohio's elections chief says that the estimate as of last Friday includes more than 475,600 non-military and more than 8,600 military and overseas voter absentee ballot requests.

Military and overseas ballots will be mailed beginning Saturday. Ballots for non-military and overseas voters will be sent starting Oct. 2.

Voters must mail the completed ballot applications by noon on Nov. 3.

Officials in Franklin County, which is home to Columbus, say almost 78,000 voters have applied to the elections board to cast absentee ballots by mail. They say figures indicate demand is on pace to match the county's record level of absentee voting in 2008.