Fact-checking Trump's continued assault on mail-in voting and suggestions of delaying the election - CNN

"The Dems talk of foreign influence in voting, but they know that Mail-In Voting is an easy way for foreign countries to enter the race."

More and more states are considering mail-in ballots as the coronavirus pandemic shows little sign of slowing down in the US before the November presidential election.

But the voting methods are very similar, and experts have told CNN they are largely "the same thing."

"No-excuse mail voting or absentee voting -- whatever you call it -- is essentially the same thing," David Becker, founder of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research told CNN's Marshall Cohen.

It's the same thing."

Rick Hasen, a University of California-Irvine professor and one of the nation's top experts in election law, told CNN "The President seems to be trying to distinguish between mail in voting where someone has to have an excuse and no excuse voting by mail."

While there can be some differences in the methods used to implement absentee and mail-in voting, experts say that they are both secure ways of voting.

"The bottom line is that absentee and mail balloting are secure in America," Wendy Weiser, the director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center, told CNN.

While rare instances of voter fraud from mail-in ballots do occur, it is nowhere near a widespread problem in the US election system.

Foreign interference

Contrary to the President's insinuation, nonpartisan election experts say it would be very difficult for foreign countries to influence the election using mail-in voting, which would require printing millions of fraudulent mail-in ballots.

Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, William Evanina, said in a statement Friday that it is "extraordinarily difficult for foreign adversaries to broadly disrupt or change vote tallies without detection."

Chris Krebs, the Trump administration's own official in charge of securing elections has also said mail-in voting is not an easy way for foreign countries to get involved with US elections.