Text Messages

I just saw CNN report on the fake text messages we posted about earlier today. And there are new reports coming in that these texts are now claiming to be "Breaking News from CNN" to lend them an air of legitimacy.

YDA is messaging their list to get the word out about these fraudulent messages:

Dear Michael,

We are getting reports from multiple states, of a recent influx of fraudulent emails, fliers, and text messages incorrectly telling students that voting has been delayed or polling places are moved for students.

Obviously these assertions are FALSE and an obvious attempt by supporters of Republican candidates afraid of the impact you are having on this election.

No voting has been delayed, all remaining voting will take place today, and you can find your polling place at www.govote.org. If you or your friends encounter any problems voting, call 866-OUR-VOTE for assistance.

If you have received any of these emails or texts do not delete them. Please forward them to chapter@yda.org immediately. If you are unable to forward text messages from your phone, please take a photo of the text on your phone and email the photo to us.

Do not allow these cheap, dirty, and irresponsible voter suppression tactics to succeed. Forward this email on to all your friends so they know the truth, post the blog post we wrote on this topic on your facebook wall, and do whatever you can to spread the word.

Sincerely,
Tony Cani
National Political Director
Young Democrats of America

The League sent a similar email to their members.

A new study conducted by Credo Mobile and the Student PIRGs during the 2008 primary season confirms data from 2006: text message reminders to go vote can increase voter turnout 4.6 percentage points when they are delivered on election day, and 2.6 points if delivered before election day.

You can read both the 2006 and 2008 studies here.

Why does this matter?

Young voters matter and are a very mobile population that is increasingly difficult to reach by traditional campaign outreach channels such as telephone calls to landlines.

• A quarter of Americans under the age of 25 used a mobile phone as their only telephone in the first half of 2006
• The mobile-only population is projected to reach 30 percent of the entire American public by the 2008 election
• Text/SMS messaging is already widely used among young
  people as a form of communication

Here's how they conducted the study:

On February 5th, 2008 (Super Tuesday) researchers sent text message reminders to 3600 mobile phone numbers chosen at random from a pool of 5400 mostly young people who had completed voter registration applications. Afterward, participants were matched to voter records to determine if they had voted in the election.

To spread the use of text message election reminders, Credo Mobile just launched Text Out The Vote, a service that lets you pre-load your friend's cell phone numbers into a website and have Credo text them on election day. Unfortunately, it looks like it also signs your friends up to receive SMS spam from Credo, or anyone Credo gives their list to.