Why you should request your November mail ballot as soon as possible, and when you can expect to receive it

A worker processes mailed-in ballots from Tuesday's primary election, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020, at the King County Elections headquarters in Renton, Wash., south of Seattle.
Ted Warren/APThis year, a record number of American voters are expected to cast their ballots from home for the November 3 election because of the COVID-19 pandemic. North Carolina will be the first state to start sending out ballots to voters on September 4, 2020, 60 days before the election.Most other states begin sen