The big day is almost here.

With the general election less than a week away, local election officials are predicting a large voter turnout, not surprising considering the contentious race for the White House.

And that means long wait times as people across the four-county region –– and throughout the nation –– cast their ballots for president –– a battle primarily between Republican candidate Donald Trump and former Secretary of State and Democrat Hillary Clinton, as well as other federal and state races.

In McKean County, there are 24,915 registered voters, of which 7,313 are Democrats, 14,202 are Republicans and 3,400 are labeled as other. In Potter County, a total of 11,003 people are registered to vote; that is broken down as 7,051 Republicans, 2,843 Democrats and more than 1,000 people identify as casting ballots for another party. Meanwhile, more than 20,000 people are registered to vote in Elk County; 1,000 of those have registered within the past month.

Already, some people have voted via absentee ballot. In McKean County, 801 absentee ballots were issued, and 583 have been received by the elections office. For Potter County, 392 of 516 absentee ballots have been returned, and about 450 of about 770 absentee ballots have been received by the elections office in Elk County.

“I can only speak about the voters in Potter, not across the state, but we do have a lot of absentee ballots from people who go south for the winter that have cast an absentee ballot,” said Sandra Lewis, director of the Potter County Voter Registration/Elections Office.

A good number of absentee ballots have been received from military, college students and snowbirds in McKean County, said Dinah Gallegos, director of the McKean County Elections and Voter Registration Office.

But the majority of voters will head to the polls next Tuesday (Nov. 8). In Pennsylvania, the polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pennsylvania doesn’t have early voting like other states.

“Be patient, read all the material that will be posted around the polling place before you go to the machines,” Lewis said.

First-time voters will need to provide identification, such as their driver’s license or their identification election card, Lewis said.

“If someone has recently moved from one precinct to another within Potter County, they will need to provide ID,” Lewis said. “If someone has moved from county to county they will need to provide ID.”

No one will be able to cast their votes via a paper ballot, Elk County Director of Elections Kim Frey said at an Elk County Commissioners meeting earlier this week.

“The manner of voting is to be conducted on the voting system,” Frey said. “A person cannot, if they are properly registered to vote, go into a polling place and request a paper ballot.”

Lewis indicated that she is not concerned with people being confused as to how to operate the voting machines.

“Our machines are touch screens so they are very simple to use,” she said.

In recent weeks, concerns have arisen from Trump that the election is rigged and from others who have claimed that the election results could be hacked. But Frey doesn’t buy that.

“It’s just impossible,” Frey said. “I don’t even understand how it could happen. I feel very confident in saying that you can’t hack them.”

The machines are not hooked to the internet, and neither is the computer used to tally the votes. She added the system is state and federally certified and passed a logic and accuracy test in October with no problems being detected.

Local election officials also said that people cannot bring campaign material into the polling place.

“If hats are worn, they will need to remove them; if shirts are worn, they will need to be covered up with a coat or jacket; if pins are worn, they will need to be removed,” Lewis said. “No voicing for or against a candidate or party while in the polling place. So they will need to go in, vote and leave.”

Gallegos shared similar thoughts.

“Voters should be respectful of other voters while in the polling location,” she said. “They should just vote and leave. There should be no discussion or attempt to influence other voters.”

Election information was not immediately available for Cameron County.

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(Era Correspondent Richard Lecker III contributed to this report.)