Arizona voters are being flooded with political calls and text messages

PHOENIX - They are everywhere, constant and non-stop: campaigns and special interest groups are flooding phones with political texts, annoying to many voters. 

So how did they even get your number? There are a lot of ways, says cyber group The Data Doctors.

Participation in political surveys, volunteering, donations - all could be sources where campaigns get your information. 

However, it’s common that businesses give your number to third parties: something you probably had no idea you agreed to when signing that lengthy terms of service agreement.

"I’d say twice a week I get a political text message," said one Phoenician, Ian.

"Probably at least five or six a day," said another. 

"At least 50," said another. 

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One voter in the Valley, Christoff says, "it’s to the point where it’s just oversaturation." 

Both sides are doing it

Democrats and Republicans on both sides of the aisle are doing it.

"I’ve never seen it so bad," says political strategist Stan Barnes with Copper State Consulting. "Somehow, like two years ago, I escaped it. Now, I cannot open my phone without multiple texts, and multiple emails, and multiple calls." 

Barnes says there is a reason why they are so frequent here in the desert.

"Arizona is a swing state and there’s $800 million being spent trying to convince you to vote one way or the other," he said. 

There's a specific strategy behind the texts, too.

"It’s so inexpensive, so the barrier to entry is low for campaigns. That’s why everyone does it, because it’s cheap, and it gets right to the individual voter," he says.

However, a lot of voters don’t think the strategy works.

"I think a lot of voters already have their minds made up," said one voter.

"I think it’s a really genius way of bringing issues to people’s knowledge. I just feel that they could word things—on either side—in a more delicate way," said another.

"I mean if your opinion was changed by a text message, then it’s not really a thoughtful opinion in the first place," said a third voter.

But Barnes says the goal isn't to persuade voters into one camp over another. Rather, it’s about name identification.

"When they get that ballot on their kitchen table and they’re marking names, they remember the name," said Barnes. "Sometimes it’s a negative reaction. Like, ‘I remember that guy that pestered me on my phone and I’m not going to vote for him,’ and other times it’s like, ‘I don’t know who to vote for, this guy has been reaching out to me, this campaign, so I guess I’ll vote for them.’" 

Voters like David can’t wait for it all to come to an end.

"I don’t like any message on my phone that’s unsolicited, so I could do without it," he said. 

What can you do to stop the texts?

So how do you get rid of them? 

Experts admit it can be difficult as they're exempt from the Do Not Call Registry. 

However, they suggest getting a free "burner number" from services like Google Voice to use every time you give out your number. 

This will help filter out some unwarranted messages.