The Washington Post claimed last week that there is no “meaningful difference” between vote by mail and absentee voting, but ciritics disagree and feel the media is simply pushing Democratic talking points.
“This appears to be another case of a media organization deciding how to report on an issue based on a predetermined political point of view,” DePauw University professor and media critic Jeffrey McCall told Fox News.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ABSENTEE VOTING AND UNIVERSAL VOTE-BY-MAIL?
The Post published a report on Friday headlined, “Google greenlights ads with ‘blatant disinformation’ about voting by mail.” It started off by noting that President Trump is wrong when he says the two systems are quite different.
“Google has declined to remove ads from a shadowy group echoing President Trump’s misleading claim that there is a meaningful difference between voting by mail and absentee voting,” Post reporter Isaac Stanley-Becker wrote.
“The ads are the latest in a campaign to discourage voters from using the U.S. Postal Service to deliver their ballots in the upcoming election by suggesting there is a difference between ‘mail-in voting’ and the way absentee ballots have been cast for decades in most states,” Stanley-Becker added. “While some states prefer one term over the other, experts say, there is no meaningful difference. All ballots delivered by mail are verified before they are counted.”
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McCall feels there has been too much public confusion about how votes are handled through the mail.
“The news media share responsibility for that confusion because reporters have not carefully explained the difference between absentee voting and universal mail-in voting,” McCall added. “To lump general voting by mail and absentee voting together and then use the issue as a club for partisan purposes is not helpful to the public's understanding of the situation.”
The Post echoed a Democratic talking point that there is little difference between universal mail-in voting and absentee voting – as they both involve the same fundamental process of casting a ballot using the mail.
However, Republicans have argued there is a distinction between the systems and that universal mail-in voting opens up opportunities for bad actors to commit fraud.
The most traditional definition of absentee voting involves a voter who is for some reason unable to make it to the polls on Election Day. In this scenario, the voter obtains a form to request a ballot, fills that form out with their excuse for not being able to vote in person and sends it to the state. The state sends the voter a ballot and the voter returns the ballot with his or her vote. Acceptable excuses for standard absentee voting include being out of the state and having medical conditions.
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Meanwhile, vote-by-mail removes all the hurdles associated with the different forms of absentee voting and sends the actual mail-in ballot to every registered voter in the state. Voters don't need to do anything to receive a ballot under this scenario, which has caused concern for Trump and his supporters.
"This entire matter of absentee and mail-in voting could be clarified and the public's concern put at ease if politicians and the media would stop trying to weaponize the process for political gain," McCall said.
Media Research Center vice president Dan Gainor feels the Post should understand the difference.
“If the Post had 20 paid print subscribers, it would be easy to handle them all. If it suddenly had 2 million, it would face huge delivery problems,” Gianor told Fox News, adding that he feels the media is that concerned liberal voters are afraid to vote in person.
“What journalists are afraid to ask, is how many liberals will risk their health to vote for Joe Biden,” Gainor added. “They know the answer and it’s not enough to beat Trump. Biden doesn't have the same strength of support and reporters know it.”
Last week, Richard Grenell said a different reporter was “purposely” confusing the two systems.
Ohers have taken to Twitter with thoughts on the situation:
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., recently detailed the distinction between universal mail-in voting and absentee voting in a column for Fox News.
REP. GREG STEUBE: 'UNIVERSAL' MAIL-IN VOTING DANGEROUS -- HERE'S WHY DEM PLANS SO RECKLESS
“The Democrats’ latest political play is a fabricated conspiracy theory that Republicans are using the U.S. Postal Service’s operational changes to disenfranchise the American people. Not only is this narrative not based in fact, but it is also a threat to the security of our elections,” Steube wrote.
"Though the Democrats prefer to ignore the difference, universal mail-in voting is when the state sends a mail-in ballot to every single registered voter, regardless if one has been requested or if the person is even a citizen or otherwise legally able to vote. For traditional absentee ballots, a registered voter must request a ballot and their identity must be authenticated,” Steube wrote. “Universal mail-in voting would be disastrous for our country, as there is no way of knowing who is actually voting. As we have seen in states with newly implemented universal mail-in voting, this practice is ripe for fraud and crippling logistical errors.”
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Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
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