OCALA - With only 22 days left until election day, thousands of residents in Marion County have  decided on the candidate they want to see in office.

Marion County Supervisor of Elections Dee Brown said that they've issued 37,322 absentee ballots.

As of Monday 10,678 have been returned to the office, which means thousands thought they were voting for or against former sheriff candidate Dan Kuhn.

Bill Leonard has been living in Ocala his whole life. He said he would have cast his vote earlier, but he decided to wait when he heard former republican sheriff candidate Dan Kuhn withdrew from the race.

"I wanted to see who the candidate would be," said Leonard.

Last Wednesday Chris Blair won the nomination to represent the republican party in the sheriff's race. Blair received 34 out of 56 votes from the Republican Executive Committee.

While thousands of residents waited for the news before voting, others had already turned in an absentee ballot.

Brown said there is nothing that can be done if you already cast your vote.

"Once a ballot is received by the Supervisor of Elections, it's deemed cast," Brown said. "It can not be altered or changed nor can we reissue another ballot."

If you voted Kuhn, the vote automatically goes to Blair. Kuhn's name will be on the ballot.

Brown said this is not uncommon and it happens all over the state of Florida, but she told us it is unique in Marion County.

"We have had it happen with a state wide candidate or a district candidate maybe over the years, but we have not ever had it to my knowledge had it happen with a local candidate," said Brown.

Some residents like Leonard believe voting is more than just what party your affilated with.

"I vote for the man not for the party," said Leonard.