Bombarded by Political Texts? Here's How Campaigns Get Your Info

Text messaging seems to be the new way political campaigns are trying to reach voters.

"Yeah I've been getting text messages," voter Cedrick May said. "I think that they are a great way for candidates to reach out and connect with people and everything."

But for many people, it can be too much.

"I would get annoyed if I get more than I say two on a daily basis cause I'm like okay I get it," voter Keyasha Johnson. "Don't blow me up. That's just rude."

Retired University of Texas Arlington Professor of Political Science Allan Saxe said the campaigns can get your information from county voter registration rolls.

"Whenever anybody registers its public information," Saxe said. "They don't know how you voted, but they know if you are registered to vote."

NBC 5 contacted several county election officials. Dallas, Denton, and Collin county responded and said registered voter information is public record that can be, and is often, requested by political campaigns.

Some people believe social media plays a role as well.

"If you are on Facebook or any of the social media that stuff gets sold to people," May said. "Political campaigns I'm sure they are buying their list so."

Saxe said text messaging though could have the opposite effect on members of their own party if it's too much.

"They may say I'm not voting for him can't you leave me alone," Saxe said. "So it may work against them in a strange way."

Contacting voters has gone from flyers in your mail, to phone calls, to now text messaging. So where does it go from here?

"As technology expands so does the way to reach voters, or potential voters and who knows what's next," Saxe said while laughing.

So how do you make it stop? Simply reply to the text message from the political campaign with the word "stop."