I don’t think absentee ballots are the same in all states, but they are basically requested by a voter, sent specifically to that voter’s address, and most of the time they are to be signed by that voter. It’s very specific.
By contrast, my understanding that mail in ballots are very generic. They are just a ballot. One person could send in as many as they wanted, as long as they had blank ballots to fill out. What I don’t know is what are the safeguards used to validate these ballots.
In some states, like mine, you have to have your signature notarized, as well. So you have to show your ID to the Notary Public, and sign in their presence. That should make it a great deal harder to fake a ballot, and give good evidence that it had been done if the ballot is questioned.
“What I don’t know is what are the safeguards used to validate these ballots.”
Don’t know if this had been addressed, but it varies by precinct, County & State (mostly by state).
One example: A recent discovery by precinct staff that a ballot had been cast by a dead person (they cross-checked).
Another example (of many): Ballots were found to have been cast after-the-fact by dead people.
Other examples of variances: ID, signature rejection, mail undelivered, no cross-checking for multiple ballots by voter...the list is almost endless.
If masks are good enough for Congress, then they’re good enough for the voting precinct/booths.