ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Vote-by-mail requests for the primary on August 18 have already broken a record, according to the Orange County supervisor of elections.

Nearly 164,000 vote-by-mail requests have already been submitted for the primary, which will decide several of the local leaders.

An area activist we spoke with said this is exactly why people who want to see change on the local level need to turn out to vote.

As part of Orlando Freedom Fighters, Aston Mack is showing support for people who gathered to demand change.

Along the way, he found an immense amount of support himself.

“I was out of faith, I thought this was it. There’s no point in trying anymore. We’ve thrown the towel in," Mack admitted. "But after seeing so many people reach out and respond to my story personally, it’s kind of given me the faith that, ‘Hey listen, this is something worth sticking out.’ ”

 Mack, along with the Freedom Fighters, encouraged people to get out and vote. 

 “We’re seeing a large, large explosion in political activism on the municipal level," Mack said. "You’re seeing entire voter turnout. I’d be very surprised, actually, to see if we had lower voter turnout from this.”

Among the local races on the ballot are Orange County sheriff, property appraiser, and several judicial positions.

“The vote for the sheriff in Orange County is going to be decided in the August election, and if you don’t like what’s happening in the court system, the state’s attorney, in essence, will be determined in the primary election," Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles said.

Mack said he believes more people just need to know how important it is to participate.

“You can’t change things without a critical mass of people caring," Mack said.

The deadline has passed to register to vote for the August 18 election, but you can request a vote-by-mail ballot until 5 p.m. August 8, which is 10 days before the election.

The deadline to register to vote for November’s primary election is October 5.