How political campaigns got your phone number and what happens when you reply ‘STOP’
With the midterm elections fast approaching, many voters have reported receiving unexpected text messages from campaigners.
This has led to many frustrated people taking to social media to question how to make the messages stop, with some querying how the campaigns have accessed their number in the first place.
The midterm elections will take place in the US tomorrow (November 3), where voters will decide on members of Congress, which is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
While all 435 seats of the House are up for grabs, only 35 of 100 seats in the Senate will be voted on, due to senators serving six-year terms.
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However, some voters have become frustrated with the amount of text reminders they are receiving. On Reddit, one user wrote: “Please, how the heck can I stop these text messages? I'm getting dozens a day. Opting out does nothing. I already voted!!!”
Another said: “I get at least six a day. I reply stop to all of them. It never ends. It’s incredibly upsetting and there seems to be no answer.”
And a third added: “The problem is I receive dozens everyday, over a 100 a week, they blow up my phone. I am too busy at work, etc to spend my day replying STOP to all of these. Will try removing my phone number from registration. But I also think they got it from my political donations. They're de-incentivizing people from their causes by literally bombarding us with texts!”
How do election campaigners access your phone number?
With many people in the US confused as to how the campaigners have got hold of their number, it turns out that every state in the nation allows them access to voter registration data, which include details such as your name, number and even home address.
This means that if your information is on the voter register, then electoral campaigns will likely be able to access it and use your information to contact you.
If you don’t wish to be contacted, you can opt out by having your information removed from the registrar’s office. Depending on the state, this can either be done online or by mail.
How to stop electoral campaigners from texting you
If you’re already receiving the text messages, then you should be able to text ‘STOP’ to unsubscribe from the messaging list.
However, with some people complaining of continued texts coming through despite requesting for them to stop, there are other ways on your smartphone that can block them.
On Android, you can do this by opening up Google Messages on your device. From there, select the three dots in the corner of the screen, followed by Settings and then Spam Protection.
Turning this feature on should stop you from receiving future messages from unknown senders.
If you’re an iPhone user then you’ll head to your phone’s Settings app, followed by Apps and then Messages.
From there, click on Unknown Senders. You should be able to select an option to turn on ‘Screen Unknown Senders’, which will filter these types of messages into a separate folder.