Ballot papers for the Conservative leadership election have been received by nearly 2,000 party members in South West Surrey.
In all, 318,000 ballot papers have gone out across the county.
The deadline for returning them is September 11. The winner will be announced on the afternoon of September 12.
This is the first time that members have been given the opportunity to choose the party leader.
Anne Mugford, the chairman of SW Surrey Conservatives Association, said she was glad members had the chance to choose, even though she "wasn't sure the mechanism was quite right".
"A long protracted process that degenerates into a slanging match is not ideal."
Ms Mugford said that putting all five original candidates to the members would have been too many and may have resulted in a split vote.
However, changing the process of elimination ballots by MPs so that three candidates were put forward to the rank-and-file. rather than two, might have been welcome.
Regional meetings held by the two candidates - Iain Duncan-Smith and Ken Clarke - have been fully booked according to Marcus Green, spokesman for the Surrey SW Conservative Party.
He was delighted at the enthusiastic response from members and hoped that this would translate into high numbers of returned ballots.
This view was echoed by Ms Mugford, who attended separate meetings held for association chairmen at the beginning of the process.
She has not gathered any soundings of who is the more popular candidate in SW Surrey. In fact she has been "at pains not to ask" or to offer advice.
"I saw it as my role to remain impartial."
At the time of the parliamentary vote to decide the final two candidates in July, Virginia Bottomley MP did not disclose her vote.