Absentee voting for the Nov. 3 general election began this week.

Voters may cast a ballot in person at the Circuit Clerk’s office, and Circuit Clerk Dustin Bairfield said the office will be open from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Oct. 3 to accommodate voters. Votes by mail must be received by the office by Nov. 2.

The deadline to vote absentee in person at the Circuit Clerk’s office is Oct. 31. The office will be open on Oct. 31 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. The deadline to register to vote for those who have never registered or have moved from another county is Oct. 3.

For this election, the Circuit Clerk’s office will be printing its own ballots through a system ballot-on-demand. Bairfield said his office has leased a printer from the state that will help reduce waste during the voting process. Rather than ordering a large amount of ballots, many of which will not be used, the office can print ballots as they are needed. Not only will this reduce waste, Bairfield estimates it will save about $2,500 on printing costs.

New on the ballot will be three school board positions and Initiative 42 and 42-A.