Ping!
Many Americans are increasingly frustrated with the barrage of campaign calls and text messages, according to a recent poll. As Election Day approaches on November 3, voters have hinted they may take their anger out on candidates who inundate them with messages.
A nationwide survey conducted by NumberBarn, a phone number management company, revealed that respondents receive an average of 13 political calls and texts weekly as campaigns heighten their outreach.
Notably, 60% of participants described the volume of campaign messages as “excessive,” particularly compared to previous elections.
Key findings of the survey included:
- 40% of people felt annoyed by the very first campaign call or text, and 69% reached that level of irritation within just three messages.
- 72% of respondents who tried to opt-out by replying “STOP” still received political messages afterward.
- 46% said an overload of calls or texts from a campaign made them less likely to support that candidate.
- Over 25% reported missing important calls or messages because they thought they were political spam.
- 71% suspected that at least some messages they received were generated by AI.
- A striking 86% advocated for the transparency of AI-generated political messages.
- Only 10% felt very confident in their ability to tell the difference between human-written and AI-generated messages.
- Despite receiving frequent political communications, nearly a third of Americans were unaware of the date for the midterm elections.
According to NumberBarn’s evaluation, “Trust may be one of the biggest challenges facing political outreach.”
The analysis noted that nearly 80% of Americans (79%) lack trust in the information they receive through these political calls and texts. While such communications are unlikely to vanish, the findings indicate that more messages don’t equate to greater trust or engagement.
Many Americans have taken extreme measures to combat the relentless wave of messages. For instance, 26% have paid a one-time fee to block these calls and texts permanently, while 57% have stopped answering calls from unrecognized numbers.
Furthermore, 23% use a “silence unknown callers” feature, 10% either turn off their phone or activate the “Do Not Disturb” mode during peak election season, and 3% have even changed their phone numbers.
More than half (51%) of those surveyed believe that political texts should only go to individuals who have opted in. Another 20% suggest that candidates should significantly reduce their messaging frequency.
As Americans become more accustomed to filtering unknown calls, blocking spam texts, and scrutinizing the source of every message—whether it’s from a candidate, a scammer, or an AI—the challenge lies not in reaching voters, but in capturing their attention.
In September 2026, NumberBarn surveyed 1,006 U.S. adults to understand their perceptions of political communication ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The survey had a margin of error of a few percentage points.
NumberBarn specializes in telecommunications services related to phone number management, which includes purchasing, transferring, and forwarding numbers.
