Despite some heated contests between candidates, the election offices in Monroe, Lehigh and Northampton counties all say they are ready for voters on Tuesday.

“Everything is going fine,” said Timothy Benyo, the chief clerk of registration and elections for Lehigh County. “No unexpected hurdles.”

Benyo said he is fully staffed for all of the voter precincts and has additional staff available in case someone calls in sick, for instance.

Becky Bartlett, a spokesperson for the Northampton County Elections Office, said all 154 precincts there are fully staffed and equipped to be able to accommodate all of the voters who want to cast their ballot at the polls. They also have hired enough workers to count the mail-in ballots during the day.

Sara May-Silfee, director of election and voter registration for Monroe County, said, “We always prepare for a large turnout.”

As far as if this year will have a larger turnout than others, May-Silfee said, “It’s hard to call, but yes.”

May-Silfee thinks turnout will be larger mostly due to it being a gubernatorial election. She said that because there are two new candidates and not an incumbent and challenger vying to be governor, it could bring out more people.

Benyo agrees - sort of. He expects to get usual number of voters for a gubernatorial election. But that is more than for a municipal election, and fewer than a presidential election.

If his expectations for the number of mail-in and absentee ballots is any indication of his prowess in predicting voter turnout, then he might just be right.

Benyo said he expected to receive up to 50,000 requests for mail-in and absentee voter ballots, and as of Oct. 31, the election office received 41,272 requests. The window to submit an application to request a mail-in or absentee ballot has closed. Requests had to be made by 5 p.m. on Nov. 1.

Mail-in and absentee ballots must be received by the elections office by 8 p.m. on Nov. 8, Election Day. Postmarks do not apply. So far, the Lehigh County elections office has received 25,366 of the mail-in and absentee ballots that were requested, Benyo said.

In Northampton County, Bartlett said the elections office has received 41,000 requests for mail-in and absentee ballots as of Oct. 30. So far, they have received back 26,500 mail-in and absentee ballots.

Monroe County’s May-Silfee said she thinks there have been more mail-in and absentee ballots requested this year than in the past. She has had about 18,000 requests, and about 11,000 of them have come back to the office.

All three counties will begin counting mail-in and absentee ballots at 7 a.m. on Election Day.

Benyo said, “We will continue to count until they are finished at sunrise on Wednesday,” if need be. “We will count through the night.”

So what is the difference between a mail-in and absentee ballot?

According to the Pennsylvania Department of State Voting and Elections Office, mail-in and absentee ballots can be requested by any Pennsylvania resident who is registered to vote. The difference is that a voter does not have to have a reason for requesting a mail-in ballot, but a voter requesting an absentee ballot has to provide a reason for his or her absence, such as being out of town on Election Day or disabled and permanently not able to go to a voting site to vote.

If that mail-in or absentee ballot is still at home, here are some tips to make sure it gets counted.

• Read the instructions carefully. Make sure to complete both the front and the back of each page of the ballot.

• Seal the ballot in the inner secrecy envelope marked “official election ballot.” It must be sealed in this envelope or it won’t be counted. Don’t make any marks on this envelope.

• Seal the inner secrecy envelope in the pre-addressed return envelope. Complete the voter’s declaration on the outside of the return envelope by signing and writing the current date. Otherwise, the ballot will not be counted;

• Mail it as soon as possible or take it to the county elections office, other official designated site, or a ballot drop box by 8 p.m. on Nov. 8. Ballots also can be turned in at a voter election site on Election Day;

• If dropped off, each registered voter must take his or her ballot to the drop box or election office. Another person cannot drop off a ballot for a person, unless a voter is someone with a disability and meets certain criteria. For more information about third party ballot delivery, go to www.vote.pa.gov/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Accessible-Voting.aspx.