Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Texts Much More Effective Than Robo-Calls

For now, texts are much more effective than robocalls, email

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 28, 2008 1:39 PM CDT

(Newser) – The candidates’ automated call campaigns have received a lot of attention, but text-messaging, which only the Obama campaign uses, is likely to have a much more potent effect on the race, writes Farhad Manjoo for Slate. Studies have shown that personal appeals are more effective at mobilizing voters than mailers or robo-calls: Door-to-door visits by volunteers are the most effective.

“The beauty of text-messaging,” Manjoo writes, “is that it is both automated and personalized.” Texts are cheap, about $0.06 per message, and unlike spam-ridden email, voters are likely to actually read them. In one study, texts increased voter turnout by 3.1%. And Obama’s texts can be tailored to your ZIP code, so voters get state-specific reminders for registration deadlines and other important dates.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

The text message announcing the choice of Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware as the vice presidential selection for the Democratic party is seen on a phone, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

The Obama campaign got a lot of cell phone numbers by promising that if you texted the campaign, it would text you once a running mate was chosen. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

The most prevalent excuse for registered voters who don't cast a ballot is, 'I'm too busy' or 'I forgot.' Texting someone is a convenient, targeted, and noticeable reminder for them to schedule a block of time for going to the polling place.
- Aaron Strauss, political scientist

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Most Popular National Politician Today Is ...

Hillary Clinton, as 'buyer's remorse' plagues a third of the country

(NEWSER) - The most popular politician nationwide is the one that got away: Hillary Clinton. Nearly two-thirds of the country sees the secretary of state favorably, and a third are battling what Bloomberg terms “buyer’s remorse” over not electing her president. Just over a year ago, only a quarter of Americans felt that way. “Looking back, I wonder if she would have been a stronger leader, knowing the games and the politics and all that goes on,” says a Florida woman. “I don’t think she would have bent as much.” More»

Sarah Palin on 2008 Loss: 'I Wasn't at Top of Ticket'

Asked about losing to Barack Obama while in India

(NEWSER) - Republicans might have fared better in 2008 if Sarah Palin was atop the ticket—suggests Sarah Palin. While speaking today at the India Today Conclave, the former Alaska governor was asked why Republicans couldn't defeat Barack Obama in the election, reports the Hill . She tipped her hat to Obama's strong campaign, and said he was able to convincingly bill himself as a change candidate. When India Today's editor then argued that she also represented change, Palin said, "I wasn't at the top of the ticket, remember?" Palin says she wasn't claiming she should have been the nominee. More»

2008 All Over Again: Obama to Base Campaign in Chicago

First reelection bid outside DC in recent memory

(NEWSER) - President Obama’s reelection campaign will likely be based in Chicago, not Washington—a rare move for a sitting president, and one that his advisers hope will help him rekindle the energy of 2008, Politico notes. Usually, campaigns are kept close to the president’s DC home, where they’re easily accessible, said a Democratic consultant: "In modern presidential history, this is kind of revolutionary." More»

Obama's Not Sexy Anymore

Failure in office makes president less dreamy

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama’s lost something much worse than political capital in his first term: He’s lost his sex appeal, writes Tunku Varadarajan at the Daily Beast . “Not so long ago, Obama’s sex appeal lay at, or near, the top of a list of his attributes that turned America on,” he writes. It was “cerebral, languid, unconventional—and complex, too, in that it was hard to demarcate his sex appeal from his political aura. In other words, he was erotic, not merely sexy.” More»

'Senator Oprah' Sounded Good to Blago

Then-gov considered media titan to succeed Obama as senator

(NEWSER) - As Rod Blagojevich considered possible successors to Barack Obama as US senator from Illinois, he came up with one name "no one can assail": Oprah Winfrey. As the former governor's corruption trial dragged on today in Chicago, prosecutors played a tape from December 2008—after Obama confidant Valerie Jarrett had withdrawn, the Tribune reports , costing Blago what he perceived as leverage with the president-elect—of Blagojevich and an aide tossing around names. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Texts Much More Effective Than Robo-Calls