# US voters face billions of political texts ahead of midterms

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/heres-why-you-cant-shake-those-unhinged-political-texts/
- Published: 2026-10-31T12:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-31T12:14:17+00:00
- Original publisher: The Verge
- Original article: https://www.theverge.com/policy/1023899/political-texts-midterm-elections
- Topics: Elections, Politics

## Key points

- Political texts are flooding US phones before the midterms.
- This year’s volume may reach 25 billion to 30 billion.
- Block or report texts, and avoid unknown links.

## Summary

A surge of political texts is reaching US voters ahead of the midterm elections, with estimates ranging from 25 billion to 30 billion messages this year. The scale reflects how campaigns use mass messaging to solicit donations, promote candidates and encourage voting, while rules that protect consumers from other unwanted calls and texts do not generally apply to political messages.

Campaigns may get phone numbers from past donations or data brokers, which combine sources such as voter rolls, online tracking and loyalty schemes to build profiles. Consumers can reply “stop”, block and report messages, or complain to regulators about suspected unauthorised autodialling, but these steps may not reduce the volume before election day; experts also advise avoiding links and donating through candidates’ official websites.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.