WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump frequently says there's a difference between absentee voting, which he once called "good" in a tweet, and mail-in voting, which he has called "inaccurate and fraudulent."
But the people who run elections don't make that distinction.
Though the terms vary from state-to-state, as do the laws, the terms "absentee voting," "mail-in voting" and even "universal vote by mail" have different meanings than the ones Trump has assigned to them, causing some confusion about the November election. States are facing a sharp increase in requests for mail-in voting as the coronavirus leaves voters unwilling to wait in lines or crowded precincts to vote.
But the president has alleged, without evidence, that the process is ripe for fraud. He has raised concerns _ even questioned whether the Nov. 3 election should take place that day _ over the legitimacy of the election as he trails Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the polls.
Trump continued his attack on Monday, saying at a White House news conference that universal mail-in voting, where absentee ballots are sent automatically to all voters in a state, was going to be a "disaster" and "a great embarrassment to our country."
The president backed off a bit Tuesday, tweeting: "Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True."
Biden has said that the virus makes it critical that everyone be able to vote without standing in line at a polling place and encouraged Congress to provide money in the stimulus package for states and the U.S. Postal Service to make that happen.
Here's a quick guide to how the terms are most commonly used by elections officials:
