Are you drowning in political campaign texts? You’re not alone.
As the November 2024 election approaches, Americans across the country will experience a surge in text messages from political campaigns trying to gain people’s attention, donations, and votes. According to Alex Kirich, CEO of call-blocking company YouMail, there will already be more political text messages in 2024 than in all of 2023.
The constant influx of political campaign emails has become a daily nuisance for some, clogging up phones with unwanted notifications and making it hard to distinguish legitimate communications from potential scams. But the mail keeps coming for a reason: Political campaigns are increasingly favoring text messaging as a form of communication over more traditional methods like email and phone calls, due to its relatively low cost and high engagement rate. “Anything that goes up means it’s working,” Quilici says.
Even some of the researchers who pioneered campaign writing are frustrated by the volume. “Texting is an important tool, but of course, like a lot of people, I get tired of how often I get texts and how often I have to send STOP messages,” says Melissa Michelson, a dean at Menlo College who decades ago ran an experiment in San Mateo County, California, to see whether texting could be used to increase voter turnout. Her research is partly responsible for the widespread adoption of texting in political campaigns today. “I’m sorry about that,” she says.
Why do I receive so many campaign messages?
In the digital age, political campaigns have embraced text messaging as a key component of their outreach strategies. Unlike emails, which often go unread, or phone calls, which go unanswered, text messages are immediate and can be seen by the recipient right away.
Kirishi, whose company tracks and analyzes the volume of political mail, said the system, which connects directly to voters’ personal devices, allows campaigns to deliver targeted messages, solicit donations, mobilize volunteers and provide important updates on campaign events with just a few taps on a smartphone screen. “Campaigns know that sending mail costs almost nothing and enough people respond that it’s worth it,” he said, adding that younger generations are more likely to respond to mail than calls from unknown numbers.
According to a YouMail survey, Republicans outsend Democrats in political text messaging in 2024 by a ratio of at least 2-to-1 (excluding the first week of March).
The process of obtaining phone numbers for text messaging is simple. Campaigns can obtain these numbers by leveraging extensive databases and digital tools designed to collect and use voter contact information. In the United States, political parties and campaigns have access to voter registration records, which typically include voters’ phone numbers and other demographic information. These records are typically maintained by state and local governments and are considered public information, allowing campaigns to access them for outreach efforts.
Some campaigns also turn to data brokers that specialize in collecting and selling consumer data, including voter information. These brokers compile vast databases that aggregate publicly available data, such as voter registration lists, consumer purchases, social media activity, and other sources, allowing campaigns to create detailed voter profiles that can be used to target specific demographics.
But before a political campaign can send mass text messages, it must register with the relevant text messaging registry to verify the campaign’s legitimacy and ensure that it complies with industry standards for opt-in and opt-out procedures mandated by wireless communications industry association CTIA and U.S. carriers. Once a campaign is approved by the registry, it can use mass texting service providers to deliver messages on its behalf from dedicated phone numbers.
As text messaging has become a mainstream campaign communication tool, its effectiveness has evolved, and campaigns now need to think carefully about how to target their efforts effectively, Michelson said. “Texting was effective 15 years ago because it was unusual,” Michelson said. “When it’s no longer unusual, it’s easier to ignore and it becomes less effective. So campaigns need to think about who text messaging is effective for and how they should target their efforts.”
How to stop it
If you want to stop receiving text messages from a campaign, you can generally opt out by replying “STOP” or blocking the sender’s phone number.
Political campaigns must get user consent before sending automated messages, and must honor opt-out requests when a user replies “STOP,” per Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. When you opt-out, you will no longer receive messages from that campaign, not just from the specific number you replied to. Failure to follow these regulations may result in campaign messages being blocked by phone companies in the future.
Bad actors often use political texts to trick recipients into clicking malicious links or divulging personal information. They usually impersonate legitimate campaigns or candidates and encourage recipients to take immediate action without verifying the sender’s authenticity. If a campaign text doesn’t seem legitimate, the FCC encourages recipients to report suspicious text messages as spam and forward them to 7726 so wireless carriers can investigate the sender and block future messages. Most smartphones have built-in spam blockers that can mute messages from unknown senders. There are also many filtering apps that users can install to flag real texts from potential spam.
Kirisi says Americans should always treat political texts as a red flag and not click or interact with them unless they can verify that they’re legitimate. “If you get a text saying President Biden needs your help, take the time to figure out how to donate online,” he says. “Don’t just click on any link they send you.”
