Reissued absentee ballots making their way back to the BOE

It's a less than ideal situation four days before the election; northwest Ohio absentee ballots missing.

"We have received a lot of voters in the county that have emailed us or called us that they're receiving those ballots," LaVera Scott, deputy director of the Lucas County Board of Elections told 13abc. "We've been able to send through through the post offices here and not send them to the processing plant in Michigan."

But if you still haven't requested an absentee, it's likely too late. Even though the deadline is Saturday at noon, those requests must come through the mail leaving a small window to get them filled out and postmarked by the seventh.

The good news is, there is still plenty of time to vote early, in person, if you live in Ohio.

"We had over 1,300 voters just yesterday [Thursday] so, we know people are definitely wanting to vote," Scott said.

There's no doubt this issue, that the Ohio Secretary of State blames on the United States Postal Service, plays a role in what people think about the election process.

BGSU political scientist and 13abc political analyst, Melissa Miller, says the situation only creates more distrust.

"That message is out there on the internet that the election is rigged. Donald Trump has made that claim very publicly and very loudly on the campaign trail," Miller said. "To be a voter who requested an absentee ballot and never received it...that would give me a very unsettled feeling."

Miller says this is a tight races, driving a lot of interest and people to the polls. That's why the missing ballots, this close to election day, are such a big deal.

"To think you could not be able to cast your vote is really disheartening," Miller said. "The race is tightening and turnout will be high. This is exactly the kind of race where you think "my vote counts, my vote could make the difference in my precinct."