Your cell phone buzzes as you’re driving down the highway, cooking dinner or trying to fall asleep. Maybe it’s a friend wanting to catch up or a family member with big news. It could even be work-related and require prompt attention.
Or, perhaps the best bet, if an election is approaching, is yet another unsolicited text message from a political group trying to influence your vote.
Oklahoma voters were flooded with a record number of political text messages in the weeks leading up to the June 16 primary election. The messages ranged from mild annoyance to constant distraction for voters who rely on text messaging to communicate with family, friends and colleagues.
“I felt like it was really violating, and honestly a turn off for me,” said Sarah Frye, a registered Republican from Ada who received several dozen texts from candidate campaigns and dark money groups ahead of the June 16 primary election.
The content of the messages varied. Some candidates sought to strike a personal tone, beginning their messages with an introduction and summarizing their experience and policy goals. Others, mostly from dark-money groups, immediately went negative on an opposing candidate.
Diann Patrick, a registered Republican voter in Sapulpa, said she started receiving as many as 10 political text messages per day in early June. One message, shared in a screenshot with Oklahoma Watch, arrived at 10:30 p.m. the night before the primary election.
Patrick said she keeps her digital data secure and does not give her contact information to political campaigns, but was unable to stem the onslaught of messages.
“I’m sure the candidates already know this, but it would be nice for them to realize that it’s not appreciated by many people,” Patrick said.
Precise data on the number of texts sent, and by whom, is not readily available. But campaign finance reports filed with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission show record-high spending.
From early April to mid-June, candidate campaigns and outside groups reported spending $773,808 on text messaging and related services. That’s a stark increase from the last gubernatorial election cycle in 2022, when candidates reported spending less than $60,000 on texting throughout the entire election cycle.
Voters wanting to limit or eliminate the communications have limited options. Federal law generally allows unsolicited political text messages, provided the messages are not automatically generated and the sender complies with requests to stop communications. Political campaigns are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry.
Why campaigns text
A mix of technological advancements and court rulings, including a 2021 U.S. Supreme Court decision that narrowed federal regulation of automated telephone dialing systems, have made it easier than ever for political groups to reach voters.
Unlike some states, the Oklahoma State Election Board does not collect voters’ phone numbers. However, campaigns can use data brokers to match phone numbers with voter registration information. DataZapp, a Florida-based marketing company, advertises voter data lists with phone numbers available for purchase for as little as 4 cents per person.
Specialized software allows campaign staff or volunteers to fire off messages in rapid succession. RumbleUp, a texting platform that campaigns often use, boasts that a single campaign volunteer or staff member can send up to 10,000 text messages per hour with its program.
Melissa Michelson, a professor at Menlo College and expert in political communications, said campaigns often turn to text messaging when other advertising methods become expensive.
Instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on television ads, campaigns can send texts for as little as 2 cents per message. That’s a fraction of the cost of sending out direct mail, for which postage alone can cost more than 30 cents per piece.
Text messaging also increases the likelihood that someone will at least glance at the advertisement. Political text messaging services advertise open rates as high as 98%.
“The return on investment is very favorable to campaigns,” Michelson said. “The reason folks are getting more and more messages is because they work.”
As for the texts at odd hours, Michelson said campaigns have data on when the most likely time for engagement is. They can even fine-tune the send time based on demographic information such as age and gender.
“Late at night when folks are tired, maybe they’re just watching TV, that could be the time when people are most likely to press the button,” she said.
Scarce regulation
At first glance, Oklahoma’s Telephone Solicitation Act appears to offer solid protection against constant unsolicited communications.
The law, enacted in 2022, forbids marketing calls and texts from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. and sets a limit of three contacts per 24-hour period. Violators are subject to a $500 penalty per offense.
Political messaging and polling, however, are specifically exempt from the law. Federal courts have consistently ruled that political campaigns have a First Amendment right to share their message, and regulation must be narrowly tailored to address a specific issue.
Michelson said the court of public opinion will likely have to suffice for voters tired of the messages.
“If we can all collectively agree to stop clicking on the messages, they’ll stop,” she said. “But as long as they work, those messages are going to keep coming. It would be extremely difficult to get the courts to agree to regulations to limit them.”
Many states, including Oklahoma, require a disclaimer about who paid for the text message. In 2023, California passed a law requiring data brokers to delete a person’s personal information upon request, which could make it more difficult for political campaigns to build targeted advertising profiles.
A refresher of phone settings could offer some relief from persistent notifications. In September 2025, Apple rolled out an update allowing iPhone users to filter messages from unknown numbers, directing those texts to a separate folder without sending a notification. Android offers a similar option for its users.
Frye said she would like to see more official scrutiny of political text messages. In the meantime, she said, she will express her sentiment at the ballot box.
“When I kept seeing the same names pop up over and over again, I was like, ‘no way, I’m not voting for you,’” Frye said. “You’ve gone too far.”
Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.
