With Election Day just a few days away, Carbon County officials are continuing to process mail-in ballots.

On Thursday, Jennifer Ketchledge, county elections director, reported that there were 8,581 mail-in ballots sent out and of that number, 6,023 have been received by her office.

That doesn’t mean those votes have been counted yet, though.

Ketchledge said her office can’t open and count them until Election Day, but noted that voters can see if they have been returned by going onto the state election website and following their ballots.

Once received by Carbon County, the elections office scans them into a computer to show that they have been returned.

She said that the number is up from previous elections, where about 4,000 ballots were requested.

Earlier Thursday, the commissioners also spoke about mail-in ballots, stressing the importance of either getting them back to the elections office ahead of the election, or casting a provisional ballot at the voter’s polling place on Election Day.

Commissioners’ Chairman Michael Sofranko explained that there is a process counties must follow for processing applications and ballots, which delay the responses.

He noted that processing could take up to seven to 10 days because once the county processes, then the state has to process it.

“Everyone thinks, once you drop it in, it’s done,” he said. “There’s a process that has to be taken care of.”

For people who applied for a mail-in ballot and then decide to vote in person, the process isn’t just to show up to your precinct on Election Day.

The commissioners noted that you must bring your blank ballot with all documentation and envelopes that had been received with the ballot to your polling place. They will then allow you to cast a provisional ballot.

Additional information on procedures is in the works for the coming days. This information will be available on the Carbon County website under Elections.

For questions, the commissioners stressed that voters should call the elections office at 570-325-4801.