ANNAPOLIS, Md. (NewsNation) — Maryland election officials announced that the state is increasing ballot drop box locations ahead of the November election, and will begin counting votes on Oct. 1.

The Maryland State Board of Elections said Wednesday that at least 270 ballot drop boxes will be deployed statewide, an increase from the 75 used in this year’s primary election. The boxes will be delivered to local election boards starting the week of Sept. 28, state officials said.

The state board also authorized local elections boards to begin tallying votes from mail-in ballots on Oct. 1. The results won’t be released until Election Day.

Maryland voters will soon receive applications for mail-in ballots, NewsNation affiliate WDVM reported. The state’s election board plans to mail out ballot applications to 4 million registered voters starting Monday.

Unlike the primary election process, voters must complete the application to vote by mail in order to receive a ballot for the November election, WDVM reported. Voters can submit their application by mail or though the drop boxes.

“The most important thing right now is get that application into us,” Frederick County Election Director Stuart Harvey said. “Once we have the application, that means a ballot will be mailed to them when they’re ready in late September. Once they get the ballot, they need to get it back to us quickly. You don’t want to wait until the last minute.”