Minnesota voters face text surge

Election Day arrives in Minnesota on Tuesday, and voters are already seeing a flood of communications from political groups. The volume of texts and calls is rising sharply as the date approaches. Campaigns and organizations are using this final window to raise funds and urge supporters to the polls.

The outreach has sparked debate over data privacy. Many of the messages reference specific details, such as a voter's past history or whether an absentee ballot was returned. David Schultz, a professor of political science and legal studies at Hamline University, notes that these details are often accessible to the public.

Schultz clarified the limits of that access. "They cannot get the content of your ballot; that is protected," he said. However, he added that administrative status is different. "Requests for absentee ballots, if you’ve already returned your absentee ballots, if you’ve already voted early, are you registered to vote or not? All of that is public information."

He explained that this transparency serves a purpose. "The reason why that’s public information is to allow for inspection by the public to ensure that there’s no illegal activity going on, that people aren’t impersonating each other," Schultz said. He attributed the high volume of messages to both the competitiveness of the races and a generational shift in how voters are contacted.

Schultz believes these messages carry the most weight for undecided or new voters. "Where I think the biggest impact is, is going to be for those voters who are on the edge saying, ‘Should I vote, not vote?’ or for first-time voters especially," he said. "For them, these messages are incredibly important."

For those who find the volume overwhelming, Schultz offered two practical steps. Voters can call their county board of elections office to voice concerns. Alternatively, they can simply reply with the word STOP to any text message they no longer wish to receive.