Political texting, explained.
Field notes on running verified voter outreach, 10DLC and TCPA in plain language, and what actually moves a race.
Start here — the complete guides
The Call to Action: What a Compliant Text Opt-in Looks Like
Collecting a phone number isn't collecting consent. The carrier standard requires a clear, conspicuous call to action, here's what one actually contains, and what makes it hold up.
Re-Engaging a Lapsed Texting List
A list that's gone quiet is still an asset if you re-engage it carefully. Here's how to bring a lapsed texting list back to life without triggering a wave of opt-outs, and when to let cold contacts go.
Surveys and Polling by Text
Text is a fast, cheap way to survey voters and gather issue data. Here's how campaigns run surveys and polls by text, what the data is good for, and the limits to keep in mind.
Ballot Cure by Text, Saving Rejected Mail Ballots
Thousands of mail ballots get rejected every election over signature and paperwork issues, and most can be fixed. Here's how campaigns use texting to run a ballot cure program and save votes that would otherwise be tossed.
How Do I Register for 10DLC?
You register your organization (the brand) and then each messaging use case (the campaign) through The Campaign Registry, usually handled by your texting platform. Brand vetting sets your trust score, which sets your throughput. Start early, it takes time.
Personalizing Political Texts with Merge Fields
Merge fields let you send a personalized text at scale, a name, a district, a polling place. Here's how personalization works in political texting, what to personalize, and where it helps and hurts.
When Not to Text Your Constituents
The fastest way to ruin a constituent text program is to overuse it. Knowing when not to text is what keeps the channel trusted, and keeps people subscribed.
What Is Two-Way Texting?
Two-way texting means voters can reply and a person answers. Here's what two-way texting is, how it differs from one-way blasts, why the reply is where the value is, and what an inbox lets a campaign do.
What Is Sender Reputation and Why Does It Matter for Texting?
Sender reputation is the carriers' running judgment of whether your traffic is wanted, built from complaint rates, STOP rates, and spam reports. A good reputation delivers; a bad one gets filtered. It's earned over time and can't be bought back quickly.
What Is a Suppression List?
A suppression list is the record of everyone you must never text, opt-outs, wrong numbers, do-not-contacts. Here's what it is, why it's a core compliance tool, and why it has to work across every campaign.
Do I Need a Short Code or a 10DLC Long-Code Number?
Most campaigns use 10DLC long codes (standard 10-digit numbers), they're faster to set up, cheaper, and support the two-way conversations texting programs need. Short codes cost more and suit very high-volume one-way blasting, which most campaigns don't need.
What Is Texting Throughput, and Why GOTV Needs It
Throughput is how fast you can send, messages per second. Here's what texting throughput is, why the political 10DLC lane unlocks more of it, and why it decides whether your GOTV blast lands in time.