COLUMBUS, Ohio - Over 250,000 more Ohioans have voted early in person and by mail compared to this time four years ago, according to new data from Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s office.

That includes in Cuyahoga County, where voting is also up compared to this point in 2014, the last non-presidential election with a governor’s race.

The election is now a week away. The data may suggest a blue wave, an energized Republican base or unaffiliated voters hoping to influence the election. Republicans have said their base is energized. In Cuyahoga County, many registered Democrats became unaffiliated when a bill became law that required them to vote once every four years to keep their party affiliation.

According to Husted’s office:

At this point in 2014, over 477,000 ballots had been cast by mail and in person across the state, Husted’s office said.

This year, 737,157 ballots have been cast statewide, including 3,400 ballots from military and overseas voters and more than 733,000 by mail or in person.

Voters have until noon on Saturday to request a mail ballot from their county board of elections.

Ballots may be returned by mail or in person: If by mail, it must be postmarked by Monday, and arrive at the county board of elections within 10 days of Election Day to be counted. If returning a ballot in person, it must be dropped off at the county board of elections by the close of polls on Election Day. More details can be found here.

Cuyahoga County numbers

In Cuyahoga County, mail and in-person early voting is up 24 percent from 2014, but down 17 percent from 2010, said Pat McDonald, director of the Board of Elections.

In 2010, 219,408 people had voted eight days from Election Day.

In 2014, 146,227 people had voted eight days out

This year, 182,160 have voted.

Missing ballots in Lorain County

Last week, about 40 North Ridgeville residents hadn’t received their mail ballots they had requested from the Lorain County Board of Elections.

On Tuesday, Board of Elections Director Paul Adams said that about 20 of those people have called saying they received their ballots since reporting them missing. However, many had already filled out a replacement ballot and had to throw away the original ballot.

The number of people who received ballots could be higher, Adams said.

“They are just the people who have contacted us,” he said.

A spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service had previously said it was investigating the matter. It’s unclear whether the investigation has concluded.

“All ballots arriving at the North Ridgeville Post Office are processed and delivered in a timely manner" David Van Allen wrote in an email.