Political text messages are arriving on voters’ phones across Kansas as the November election approaches, prompting mixed reactions from residents who find the communication either helpful for civic engagement or entirely intrusive.
How do campaigns get voter contact numbers?
Candidates, political parties, and political action committees can request voter registration information under Kansas law. This data includes phone numbers and email addresses if individuals chose to provide them when registering to vote.
Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Laura Rainwater explained the public nature of these records. “If you put your phone number or your email on your registration, that is public information,” Rainwater stated, noting that groups can legally access all registration details except Social Security and driver’s license numbers, as KWCH reported.
The messages themselves vary in content. Some texts encourage recipients to head to the polls, while others ask voters directly about their preferences for the upcoming November election.
How are voters reacting to the incoming texts?
Local residents report distinctly different experiences with the political outreach. For some, the messages are simply noise that fails to sway established opinions.
“No it doesn’t because I’ve really made my decision about who I want to vote for, but I don’t really need their influence,” said Kansas voter Rhonda Lewis, describing the messages as very irritating and intrusive.
“I don’t like it. I know who I want to vote for and I don’t need a political text. It’s very irritating and I don’t want that on my phone. It clutters up my text messaging,” Lewis added.
Other voters see the alerts through a different lens. Blake Stanhope noted that receiving the notifications served as a practical reminder of upcoming civic duties.
“Hearing stuff about different political figures, I was like I got to vote,” Stanhope said. While acknowledging the utility of occasional reminders, Stanhope also pointed to repetitive digital advertising, adding, “I get why they do it, but I see a bunch of stuff on YouTube, and it’s like, you know, I need to see just like, one or two and that’ll be it.”
What steps can voters take to stop the messages?
Voters looking to minimize or eliminate political texts have a few options available under current regulations and registration guidelines.
Election officials point out that providing a phone number or email address during voter registration is optional. “If you don’t want to put your phone number on your registration, you don’t have to. Same with your email,” Rainwater said.
For messages already reaching active numbers, recipients can text back the word “STOP” in all capital letters.
Federal guidelines apply to automated messaging. Federal Communications Commission rules state that political robotexts or calls require the recipient’s prior consent. The FCC encourages individuals who believe a political group is violating these regulations to file a complaint directly through the FCC website.
