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With Election Day less than two weeks away, thousands of Quad-City voters already have filled out their ballots in hopes of avoiding long lines on Nov. 4.

Inside a secured room on the sixth floor of the Scott County Administration Center on Wednesday afternoon, four workers sifted through absentee ballot requests in an assembly line-like fashion. As requests roll in, workers sort and separate ballots by ZIP code and style — Scott County has 84 different ballots — and stuff them in envelopes that are placed in bulk mail bins for delivery.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Scott County Auditor’s Office had received more than 14,000 early ballots, while about 11,000 registered voters in Rock Island County had cast their ballots.

County officials expect the number of early votes and absentee ballots will increase in coming years as people adjust to the convenience of voting in their home or at a local early voting center.

“I think it scared them in the beginning because they weren’t sure how it’s counted, but once you do it, they realize that it’s comfortable voting from home,” said Scott County Auditor Roxanna Moritz, who said she expects her office will receive more than 30,000 absentee ballots and early votes this election, or more than half of the county's predicted voter turnout.