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Florida In National Spotlight After President Trump Praises State's Mail-In Voting

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Mail-in voting in Florida is in the national spotlight.

"There is no way you can go through a mail-in vote without massive cheating," President Donald Trump said.

President Trump said that in an excerpt from the August 3rd episode of Axios on HBO. The next day, the criticism, at least in Florida, was gone.

"Over a long period of time, they've been able to get their absentee ballots done extremely professional. Florida's different from other states," President Trump said in a news briefing Tuesday.

The president doesn't agree with states like Nevada that just approved a plan to mail a ballot to every registered voter.

Here in Florida, you have to request one.

Democrats have 1.9 million Floridians signed up to vote by mail in November. That's compared to Republicans who have signed up 600,000 fewer people.

Both are racing for more.

Gov. Ron DeSantis told CBS4 News during an hour-long interview that he's confident in a system where people must request a ballot.

"The model we have, where you can request. You don't have to be sick or out. No excuse absentee. I think that has been successful and it has integrity," the governor said.

With the upcoming surge in mail-in votes in this month's election and in November, Miami-Dade and Broward said the goal is still to turnaround results on the actual day of the election.

"We will see how many we get on Election Day. That will really be the determining factor on whether or not we have everything in by my goal or if we are still going to be reading those ballots into the night," said Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Christina White.

White is urging those who are choosing a vote-by-mail ballot to fill it out as soon as possible – not only to help with results, but also to avoid any potential problems.

"If your signature does not appear to match, we can notify you and give you an opportunity to correct that," she said.

Miami-Dade is seeing a record number of mail-in-ballot requests for the August election. It's already approaching half-a-million. The same goes for Broward at 400,000 requests.

We asked election leaders if they have a preference. They don't. They say the choice is yours.

"It's really up to the voter. Just as long as they are taking advantage of voting. It's a very important election year. So, do it the way that makes you feel comfortable," White said.

A spokesperson for the Broward Supervisor of Elections Office is also warning people to not give their ballot to so-called "ballot collectors" – someone who gathers ballets on behalf of others. He says either deliver your ballot yourself or mail it in.

RELATED: Broward Sets Up 24-Hour Drop Boxes For Vote-By-Mail Ballots In Primary Election

Shifting focus back to the president, Trump currently trails former Vice President Joe Biden in opinion polls.

Kevin Munoz is the Biden spokesperson for campaign staff in Florida. He released a statement, which read:

"Time and time again, Donald Trump has shown his lack of reliability and inconsistencies on so many issues important to our community. When it comes to the act of voting – the very core of our democracy – we cannot afford to have inconsistencies that undermine our community's faith and trust in participating in the democratic process. Vote-by-mail is safe and we deserve a President like Joe Biden who will work to expand participation in our democracy."

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