COLORADO SPRINGS — We are less than three weeks out from the midterm elections, making it hard to avoid seeing political campaigns. From ads to commercials, to calls, it’s easy to see that election season is upon us.
The latest way for politicians to reach out to you, is the easiest way, through text.
Some voters might be wondering why they are getting these texts, despite being listed on a “do not call” registry. Well, most texts and calls don’t apply to this rule.
The Federal Communications Commission does not allow politicians to use an auto-dialer to contact voters in the masses.
But the rule doesn’t stop volunteers from reaching out to you. Therefore, the campaign texts are coming from actual volunteers’ cell phone numbers.
“Specifically, election calls cannot be regulated by the F-C-C. And therefore, they are allowed,” said local attorney, Jeremy Loew.
Most of these volunteers get your number from the voter registration database. They can request this from the secretary of state’s office or from the county clerks. If you gave your phone number when you registered to vote, then it’s out there on public record.
“We all unsubscribe to them, or we text STOP, but our name is on a list and this list is controlled by the two major parties and they sell it down to other clients,” said Loew.
It can be tough to get these texts to stop.
“So, these calls and texts that we are receiving, no matter if we’re on the “Do not call” list or not, we still will be, unfortunately receiving them,” said Loew.
If you want to get fewer texts, you can go to govotecolorado.com and remove your phone number. This will make it harder for volunteers to get your number. A quicker way to get them to stop is to vote. If they see you dropped off your ballot already, they’re less likely to contact you.
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