Political campaigns want voters to head to the polls, and they often use text messages to remind people to cast their ballots.
These messages hit our phones at different times of the day and night.
While we are at work, home or play. When we are alone, with our families, even while hanging with our pets.
So, what can you do?
Cindy Siegel, Chair of the Harris County Republican Party, said the party removes voters from its get-out-the-vote text lists once it confirms they have voted, “If you voted, we take you out of our lists and you won’t get another get-out-to-vote text,” Siegel said to 2 Helps You.
Siegel said campaigns can determine whether someone has voted because voting participation is public information. However, that does not mean campaigns can see how an individual voted.
The distinction allows campaigns to track participation and adjust their outreach to those voters who still have not gone to the polls.
Voting doesn’t necessarily stop fundraising texts
Odus Evbagharu, former Chair of the Harris County Democratic Party, said getting removed from a campaign’s get-out-the-vote list does not necessarily mean a voter will stop receiving political messages.
Campaigns still need money to pay for their operations and reach voters, “We’re going to always need more money,” Evbagharu said.
But the way to stop fundraising texts is to simply reply STOP according to Evbagharu.
Both Siegel and Evbagharu did admit some messages may still fall through the cracks and that is the result of a separate list of cell phone numbers that a campaign may be using.
However, a vote during early voting will cut down on the messages your phones receive.
