Franklin County Clerk Tim Baker and his staff have been working extremely hard to make sure county voters have their voices heard.

Baker reports that of the county’s 74,000 registered voters, about 12 percent, have already cast their votes by absentee ballot. 9,300 voters cast their ballots by mail or in-person absentee ballots at the clerk’s office prior to election day.

Last Tuesday, 337 people came to Baker’s office to vote. That number grew steadily each day with a culmination Monday of 558 in-person absentee ballots.

Baker is confident that the Nov. 3 General Election will be, “without question, the biggest election we’ve seen.”

Before 11 a.m. Tuesday, the Gerald polls had accepted nearly 500 ballots. While there was not a line, there was a steady stream of voters. The election officials, under Baker’s guidance, were handling the extra work smoothly.