Political Robocalls in Louisiana – Violation of Do Not Call List?

This is election week in Louisiana. Early voting concluded this past Saturday and the rest of the electorate will let their opinions be known this upcoming Saturday. The polls across Louisiana will open at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning and voters will have until 8 p.m. to let their voices be heard on a wide variety of topics including who will be Louisiana's next Governor.

As we head down the home stretch in this part of the election process those of us who are constituents should expect an uptick in political activity in our general vicinity. That's just a fancy way of saying candidates will be pulling out all the stops over these next few days. You'll be hearing a lot of political ads on the radio. There will be more than a few political ads running on television. You might even get a call or a text from a candidate too.

Are Political Campaign Marketing Calls Governed by the Do Not Call List?

The short answer to this question is yes and no. According to the Federal Communications Commission, a political campaign may make campaign-related auto-dialed or pre-recorded voice calls to any landline telephone with or without the prior consent of the landline owner.

However Political campaign-related auto-dialed or pre-recorded voice calls, including auto-dialed live calls, auto-dialed texts, and pre-recorded voice messages are prohibited to cell phones, pagers, or other mobile devices without the called party's prior express consent.

The same restrictions apply to robotexts too. A "robotext" is considered to be any text message that is generated through auto-dialing. This type of communication is considered to be a robocall and falls under the rules and restrictions that govern that form of communication.

Can I Report a Candidate or Campaign That Violates These Rules?

You certainly can. The easiest way to file an informal complaint against a robocall or robotext that does not comply with the FCC guidelines is to report it via this link. If you have received a SPAM text you can forward that text to 7726 (SPAM). This information will serve as a report of an unwanted text. It should be noted that if you do receive an unwanted text from a campaign you should be able to opt out by simply replying with the word STOP.