Elec­tion offi­cials in key gen­er­al elec­tion bat­tle­ground states are notic­ing a surge of requests for absen­tee bal­lots by Democ­rats – upend­ing a trend of Repub­li­cans in some cru­cial states typ­i­cal­ly dom­i­nat­ing vot­ing by absen­tee bal­lot through the mail.