10 Political Text Messages Examples For Political Campaigns

Political text messaging has become one of the most valuable methods of voter outreach for political campaigns. Whether it’s municipal races or Congressional elections, almost everyone has a cellphone, so the reach of text messaging is great, considering it has a 98% open rate. Emails and direct mail can’t compete with it.

But knowing you need to text your voters and knowing how to proceed with it are two different things. If you send an important text message at the wrong time or with the wrong wording, you can lose your audience in a minute. But if you manage to text at the right time and with the right message, you will turn passive supporters into active voters.

This guide contains 10 samples of political text messages that can be used in any stage of the political process, starting from the announcement and finishing with election day engagement.

Why SMS Campaigns Work for Political Outreach

SMS through its use of real-time data. When a supporter text YES to a volunteer or DONATE to receive the link, or even replies to a polling question, the campaign has valuable information to utilize. Research has shown that timely GOTV text messages increase voter turnout by 2-3%. In tight elections, this small percentage can mean the difference between winning or losing an election.

How Often Should Campaigns Text Voters?

The most common question that campaign managers ask, the answer is: it depends on where you are in the election cycle. Sending too few messages can disinterest supporters, while sending too many messages can get you blocked.

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10 Political Text Messages Examples Your Campaign Can Use Today

Every instance that follows gives you an illustration of the actual message, when the message should be sent, to whom it will be sent and its success factor. Feel free to take any of those messages and change them around for your candidate and your campaign.

1. Campaign Announcement Text

The first communication voters receive from your campaign establishes the foundation for all future communications. This message must introduce the candidate, make it clear what the race is about, and persuade voters to stay in touch rather than opting out. 

Timing: On the campaign launch day or when a voter first subscribes to your mailing list.

Recipients: All new contacts, opted-in supporters, and initial lists of targeted voters.

2. Fundraising Appeal Text

Fundraising texts are among the more effective political communications if done right. It is essential that they express urgency without giving off a desperate tone. It is important to communicate to supporters that they should make their contribution immediately and not wait for a later date.

Time to send: Fundraising campaigns should always coincide with deadlines for the FEC and for matching gifts and significant milestones achieved during fundraising.

Target audience: Your fundraising efforts should focus at your past donors, high-engagement supporters and opted-in contacts who are on your list for more than just two weeks.

3. Volunteer Recruitment Text

The backbone of every campaign is made up of volunteers. A well-timed volunteer recruitment text message can transform passive supporters into active campaign participants. 

When to send: 6–10 weeks prior to election day, or as soon as an event needs staffing.

Who to send: To those who have clicked on links, engaged with the previous text messages, and RSVPed to events.

4. GOTV Reminder Text — Early Voting

GOTV texting is where the SMS is best employed. Studies show that GOTV texting raises turnout by 2-3% among contacted voters. Early voting reminders appear to be particularly useful as they smoothly distribute turnout over various days.

Timing: On the first day of early voting, with an additional reminder 2-3 days before its completion.

Recipients: All opted-in supporters located in a jurisdiction that has early voting.

5. GOTV Text — Election Day

Using GOTV is the most pressing messaging strategy utilized for the campaign. The effectiveness of the strategy depends very much on the right timing. The morning messages should be sent between 7 am and 9 am. Midday messages can reach the voter file supporters that have not been marked as having voted. The evening approach should be used two hours before polls close.

Timing of the campaign messages: Election Day — morning hours (7 am – 9 am), midday (12 pm – 2 pm), and evening hours (2 hours before polls close).

Audiences of the campaign messages: send to all supporters that have opted in using voter file data to eliminate confirmed voters from the midday and evening messages.

6. Event Invitation Text

Rally and event invitations via SMS reach much more users than email. A text sent 48 hours before the event followed by a reminder a day before will yield more attendance than digital ads or social media posts announcing that event.

When to send: 48 hours before the event + reminder 2 hours before it starts

Who to send: All opted-in supporters located around the event

7. Voter Registration Reminder Text

One communication technique with a significant effect is using voter registration deadline reminders in a campaign. If the first-time voter registers as a result of your message and participates in the elections, it is a success that could not happen without any campaign effort. Many jurisdictions have registration deadlines which are 15–30 days prior to Election Day; hence, sending at least two reminders in such periods will be effective.

When to send: Each reminder should be sent 30 days, 14 days, and 3 days prior to the election deadlines in your state.

To whom to send: Mainly, young voters (aged from 18 to 30), newly-made connections, and addresses present on your database, which can possibly be unregistered.

8. Issue Advocacy and Persuasion Text

Persuasive text messages influence undecided voters and low-propensity supporters. The content should focus on particular topics of interest to the recipient, rather than on generic party propaganda. Message content should be customized, based on information taken from voter files.

The best time to send these messages is 4-8 weeks before election day to undecided voters and people with low propensity to vote.

The audience includes people who vote in unusual ways, undecided voters, independent voters, and the rest who are likely to change sides.

9. Endorsement Announcement Text

Receiving an endorsement from a well-respected local person or group — such as a local politician or another important figure — is very effective in persuading undecided individuals to vote. The best method for performing an endorsement involved spreading through SMS since it’s an instant tool to inform people about an important endorsement soon after it happened. The process of doing this is simple and effective.

Send it: Within a day after receiving any positive news.

Send it to: Everyone who has positively evaluated the candidate.

10. Polling Location and Voting Information Text

The text that campaigns could send to voters that is perhaps the easiest to implement — and also one of the most valued by supporters — is a link to their polling place. That reduces the effort for the voter although it conveys the message that the campaign is there to assist voters and not just ask from them. The link could also be seen as a sneakily helpful action on the part of the campaign, since the action of checking the polling place is just one step away from heading to the polling station. 

When to send: 3 to 5 days prior to Election Day and on Election Day at the beginning of the day.

Who to send it to: All opted-in supporters. It is particularly effective when targeting first-time voters or people who just changed their address.

Political Text Message Compliance — What Every Campaign Must Know

Political SMS communication is considered one of the top regulated forms of political communication in the US. Failure to comply with regulatory requirements could lead not only to fines but also to a complete blocking of your SMS sender ID by the phone carriers, thus depriving you of the opportunity to send messages at the last moment of political activity.

Here are the rules to abide by:

10DLC Registration Is Required

Since February 2025, US phone carriers blocked 100% of bulk SMS messages sent from unregistered sender IDs. Political organizations have to register their brands under the 10DLC rules and register the use case before sending bulk SMS. As for political organizations, they have to submit a Campaign Verify token received from campaignverify.org in order to complete use case registration.

Consent Is Required

According to the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act), before sending out promotional text as well as political message, the sender must seek permission from the receiver in the form of written consent. Buying a list of voters from the vendor cannot be equated to SMS consent. In any case, the sender should obtain explicit opt-in by using one of the mentioned methods:

• Web form with an SMS consent checkbox — unchecked by default
• Keyword opt-in — voter texts a keyword to your number and receives a confirmation
• Paper sign-up with explicit SMS consent language
• Verbal consent — documented at time of collection

Opt-Out Must Be Included In Every Message

Political text messages need to have an easy opt-out option. An acceptable phrase would be something like ‘Reply STOP to unsubscribe’ or ‘Text STOP to opt out.’ The moment someone opts out, no political text messages should be sent to them. A good SMS service provider will ensure that once STOP message is received from the recipient, the person will be immediately removed from the contact list.

Identify Your Campaign In Every Message

Each message should include information about who is sending the message. It can be done by starting the message with a phrase such as ‘Hi, this is the [Candidate] Campaign…’ or simply writing it naturally within the message. Confusion about who sent the political text could lead the sender to face compliance and credibility issues.

Quiet Hours

Political text messages cannot be sent before 8am and after 9pm in the recipients’ local area. This is accepted as a rule by the TCPA and is also enforced by the carriers.

5 Tips for Writing Political Text Messages That Get Results

1. Personalise with the voter’s first name

All of the instances mentioned were done employing [First Name] which is an important aspect. Having a message begin with “Hello Sarah” maximizes its results compared to “Hello there” or “Dear Recipient”. All text messaging solutions have first-name usage on their contact lists.

2. One message, one call to action

According to research, political SMSs asking people to contribute, RSVP, share with others, and register for voting do not achieve any of the above. Use only one action in each message. One action in one SMS is the principal rule in SMS campaigns.

3. Keep it under 160 characters where possible

A single SMS contains 160 characters only. If a text exceeds this limit, it is divided into multiple SMSs, which makes the costs higher as they are billed separately. Thanks to ZeepText, you know how many characters there are in your message even when you’re typing it. It is better to stick to 160 characters or less including “Stop” messages.

4. Be specific — not generic

A message saying “We request your support” works worse than “We need $4,200 to meet the federal deadline by Friday.” SMSs aimed at a certain audience are more likely to succeed. The more detailed the message is (dates, amounts, events, places, and subject), the more people will be ready to support the initiative.

5. Segment your list and match messages to audience

Messages directed at first-time voters will be different from those directed at experienced donors. Messages directed at swing voters will vary from those sent to loyal supporters. Asking for funds from someone who just became a donor yesterday will probably result in them declining to give. Matching messages to voter segments is the difference between a campaign that irritates them and one that connects with them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an example of a political text message?

An example of Get Out the Vote (GOTV) text message reads: “Hello Sarah. Today is the Election Day in [County]. Today, polling stations will close at 8 PM. Check out your polling station here: [Link]. Your vote for [Candidate] counts so you better be counted! Reply STOP if you wish to unsubscribe.” The best political text messages are commonly short, informative highly personalized and each of them contains only one key action and instructions on how to opt out.

How often should political campaigns text voters?

Considerably in advance of campaigning (6 months+), 1-2 texts per month are acceptable. In the last month of campaigning 1-2 texts per week are standard. In final week it is usual to send a text every day for the need of G.O.T.V. campaign. On the Election Day it is possible to send 2-3 messages, namely early in the morning, in the middle of the day and at the end, around 2 hours before polling stations are closed.

Do political campaigns need consent to text voters?

Yes. TCPA indicates that express written consent must be obtained before sending bulk messages. A voter file does not give consent for such an event. Campaigners should collect opt-in consent by means of web-based form where a checkbox is located, by means of writing a code or verbally.

What is 10DLC and do political campaigns need it?

Organizations sending bulk SMS message in the US must comply with the 10DLC (10-Digit Long Code) registration requirement. Registered messages have been blocked since February 2025. For political campaigns, the prerequisite for registering is brand registration, obtaining use case registration, and a Campaign Verify token at campaignverify.org, without which bulk SMS messages will not reach the audience.

What should every political text message include?

Political SMS must contain clear identification of the sender, one clear call to action, and stop language like ‘Reply STOP to unsubscribe’. Best practices suggest the inclusion of the voter’s first name and the link.

What makes a GOTV text message effective?

Successful GOTV messages are timely (mention when polls are closing), give the direct link to the voter’s polling place, and go out at the right time — on Election Day morning, not two weeks before it. Research has shown that voter turnout can increase by 2–3 percentage points with the help of GOTV SMS messages.

Can campaigns send political texts on Election Day?

Yes. Election Day is when political texting has its highest impact. Send a morning message when polls open, a midday message to supporters not yet confirmed as having voted, and an evening push 2 hours before polls close. Always stay within quiet hours (8am–9pm) and include opt-out language in every send.