President Trump calls Florida voting system 'safe and secure,' encourages absentee ballot or vote-by-mail

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FILE - US President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 30, 2020. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON D.C. - The President believes Florida's voting system is safe and secure, so he is encouraging residents to vote by absentee ballot or by mail.

President Donald J. Trump tweeted on Tuesday afternoon that "in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True. Florida's Voting system has been cleaned up (we defeated Democrats attempts at change)."

He added that "in Florida I encourage all to request a Ballot and Vote by Mail!"

The President previously called for the 2020 election to be delayed, arguing that unsubstantiated allegations that increased mail-in voting will result in fraud.

However, the date of the presidential election — the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in every fourth year — is enshrined in federal law and would require an act of Congress to change, including agreement from the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. The Constitution makes no provisions for a delay in the end of Trump's term — noon on Jan. 20, 2021.

There is also no evidence of widespread voter fraud through mail-in voting, even in states with all-mail votes. At least five states already rely exclusively on mail-in ballots, and they say they have necessary safeguards in place to ensure that a hostile foreign actor doesn’t disrupt the vote. Election security experts say that all forms of voter fraud are rare, including absentee balloting.

Governor Ron DeSantis has added that "Florida will be in a good spot to go" come election season. He said that the state requires verification of the voters and that the state will police for election fraud. The Secretary of State Laurel Lee, Florida’s chief elections’ official, has also gathered resources for people to safely work the polls.

Florida has 13.7 million registered voters. Including ballots already cast, Democrats have been provided more than 1.8 million vote-by-mail ballots, while nearly 1.3 million have been sent to Republicans. Voters can also cast ballots during in-person early voting and at polling places on Election Day.

Tune in to FOX 35 Orlando for the latest news on the 2020 election.