“Many Republicans are outwardly careful not to address Trump’s remarks, but privately they worry his escalating accusations of fraud could scare reliable supporters from voting remotely. New polling has fueled these concerns and Democrats are outpacing Republican requests for absentee ballots in some swing states” Politico reports.

“Trump frequently attempts to distinguish between mail-in ballots and absentee ballots, saying the latter has additional safeguards and go only to those who request them (election officials say the ballots look identical). He requested an absentee ballot himself to vote in this week’s Florida primary, and his own campaign has been targeting counties in battleground states where absentee ballots made a difference in 2016, urging supporters through a website to request ballots and running Facebook ads that state ‘Absentee ballots are GOOD. I need you to get your application and send in your absentee ballot IMMEDIATELY.’ But across the country, the distinction between mail-in ballots and absentee ballots appears negligible. Some states use the words interchangeably or use a single term for all mail-in ballots. In Florida voters can request a mail-in ballot without providing a reason, but in Texas, voters must list a reason for remote voting. Yet in both states, all remote ballots are referred to as ‘mail-in ballots.’ Over in Vermont, ballots are sent to everyone, while in Wisconsin, only ballot applications are sent to everyone. Still, all mail-in voting in both states is nonetheless called ‘absentee ballots.'”