Vance pushes 'Chase The Vote' initiative at Mesa rally

At a church in the East Valley, Donald Trump’s running mate and activists for the former president urged supporters to help elect Republicans up and down ballots in Arizona by signing up to knock on doors using a third-party app organized by some of the president’s allies.

The event, hosted by Turning Point Action — the political arm of Turning Point USA, founded by Charlie Kirk — boasted of their “Chase The Vote” initiative, an effort that acknowledges the power of voting by mail in key swing states like Arizona.

In years past, Republicans and Trump in particular have repeatedly attacked mail voting and sowed distrust in the method among their base.

But in Arizona, where voting by mail is increasingly popular — nearly 90% of voters received a mail ballot in 2020, when President Biden defeated Trump in the state — the new campaign is trying to replicate the success that Democratic organizers and activists have found by chasing ballots.

Gage Skidmore/CC by 2.0

“You know, there are thousands and thousands of voters here in East Mesa, right near Queen Creek, right near Apache Junction, where people get ballots in the mail and they don't submit them,” Kirk said. “‘My vote doesn't matter. It doesn't matter.’ We need to have a citizen force in the month of October, all of us, to go chase every single ballot in the month of October.”

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s vice presidential nominee, said the ballot chasing operation can help conservatives expand their impact at the ballot box.

“Here’s the way you can vote 10 times legally. You take yourself, nine of your friends and family, and make sure they get to the polls on or before Election Day,” Vance said. “That is the way Republicans vote 10 times.”