Absentee ballots are counted the old-fashioned way.
"If there’s another 9/11 or a major war in the Middle-East involving a U.S. attack on Iran, I have no doubt that there will be, the day after or within days an equivalent of a Reichstag fire decree that will involve massive detentions in this country."
Yes they are and I'm one of the people handing out step-by-step instructions on how to vote absentee, and recommending it, particularly to poor people who might be "challenged" if they show up Election Day. By the time it's proven the challenge was bogus, it's too late. Most places don't even have provisional ballots to be used if the challenge is denied.
The GOP has a huge program meant to deny the vote to people they suspect might vote Democratic. I had my vote challenged during the primaries this year, for no reason whatsoever. Luckily, I had photo ID and mail with my address with me, just by coincidence, and the challenge was denied on the spot.