Lackawanna County sent out more than 17,000 mail-in ballots Thursday that voters can complete and return by mail, hand deliver to the county’s election department or deposit in any of several secure drop boxes the county again deployed for the midterm election Nov. 3.

Democrats have consistently proven more likely to vote by mail in the county, where they outnumber their Republican counterparts by about 24,625 registered potential voters.

Of the roughly 17,121 prospective county voters who applied for mail-in ballots so far this election cycle, 13,124 are registered Democrats, 2,920 are registered Republicans and the remaining 1,077 are registered to vote but not affiliated with either major party, county Elections Director Beth Hopkins said.

The deadline to register to vote in November’s election — which features a highly competitive midterm matchup in the 8th Congressional District, a governor’s race, contested state House and Senate races and a Lackawanna County ballot question asking voters to ban insider trading by county officials and employees — is Oct. 19. The last day to apply for a mail-in or civilian absentee ballot is Oct. 27.

Officials deployed six secure drop boxes across the county this week that voters can use to return those ballots, with five of the six accessible weekdays until noon Oct. 30. The drop box located in the first-floor lobby of the county government center, 123 Wyoming Ave., Scranton, will remain available until the polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day, which is the deadline mail-in ballots must be returned by to be counted.

The government center drop box is accessible weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will be accessible Saturdays in October from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Other drop box sites include:

Carbondale: Fallbrook Senior Community Center, 185 Fallbrook St., accessible Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Clarks Summit: Borough Building, 304 S. State St., accessible Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Dickson City: Municipal Building, 901 Enterprise St., accessible Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Moosic: Borough Building, 715 Main St., accessible Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Roaring Brook Twp.: Municipal Building, 430 Blue Shutters Road, accessible Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The drop boxes are kept under 24/7 video surveillance and deposited ballots are collected daily by a county voter registration staff member and a county sheriff’s deputy.

Forging, counterfeiting, tampering with or destroying ballots is a second-degree misdemeanor under the Pennsylvania Election Code. While state law only permits voters to return their own ballots, an exception exists allowing voters with disabilities to specifically designate someone to deliver their ballot in writing using an official “designated agent” form.

Lackawanna County voters who’d rather not mail their ballot or use any of the six drop boxes can hand deliver it to the county’s election office on the second floor of the government center in Scranton.

Sample ballots, voter registration and mail-in ballot applications, a list of polling places and other election forms and resources are available online at lackawannacounty.org by clicking the “Elections & Voter Registration” link under the “government” tab at the top of the site.

For those planning to vote in person, Election Day polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.