Getting Bombarded With Political Calls and Texts? Read This

What Montana Voters Need To Know About Political Texts And Calls

Absentee ballots are on their way out to Montana voters, and if your phone has already been blowing up with political texts and calls, don't expect that to slow down as Election Day gets closer.

With the November 3 election coming up fast, campaigns are trying to reach as many voters as possible. But there's a pretty big difference between an annoying political message and one that actually breaks the rules.

Why The Do Not Call List Won't Stop Political Campaign Calls

NBC Montana reports that political campaigns are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry. So if you've signed up for that list, don't expect it to keep campaigns from calling you.

That doesn't mean they can do whatever they want, though.

Automated political calls and texts sent through autodialing systems generally require your permission when they're sent to cellphones. You might give that permission by signing up for campaign updates, donating, volunteering, or giving your number to a political organization.

Manually sent political texts are a different story. Those can generally be sent without you signing up for anything or giving permission. So technically, a campaign may not be breaking the law just because it sent you an unwanted political text.

So does that mean you're stuck dealing with all these calls & messages? Not exactly.

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Here's How To Cut Down On Political Texts And Spam

For most text messages, replying STOP should let you unsubscribe. You can also block the number or use your phone's spam protection features.

If you get a text that seems suspicious, you can forward it to 7726, which spells SPAM. That sends a report to your wireless provider so they can look into it.

And with AI taking over just about everything these days, you might even get a political call featuring an AI-generated voice. Those count as artificial voices under federal robocall rules, so they still have to follow the applicable restrictions.

There's probably no way to avoid every campaign message between now and Election Day, but if you think a campaign is crossing the line, you do have some options.

You can read more about what's legal and what's not from NBC Montana here.