SPOKANE, Wash– As we inch closer to November 5, it sometimes feels like we can’t escape election reminders no matter where we go. Yard signs, social media, TV ads and robocalls/texts are all around us.
When it comes to those unwanted robocalls and texts, people are more frustrated by them than not. So, do they actually work, and what is the campaign strategy behind the pesky calls and texts?
Dr. Rebecca Donaway is a Lecturer of Communication Studies at Gonzaga University who teaches classes on political communication.
She says campaigns use robocalls and texts not to persuade voters but to mobilize.
“So when you think about robocalls and robotexts, they are pretty cost-effective. If the alternative is someone going door-to-door and knocking on your door and saying, ‘Hey, I’m so-and-so with the such-and-such campaign, and we want to make sure you’re voting,’ that takes a lot of manpower. It takes …