Campaign Calls to Cellphones Invade Privacy, Voters Say

Last-minute campaign calls are increasingly targeting cellphones, frustrating voters who say their privacy is being violated through political telemarketing to their personal mobile devices. The rise of the robocall and the growing number of people who use a cellphone as their primary point of contact have converged to invade voters' personal space. Telemarketing to cellphones for general consumer purposes, such as car warranty sales pitches, was outlawed in 2003 so as to not penalize consumers, whose cellphone plans typically require that they pay for minutes used. But an exemption in the law allowed political candidates to call people, whether on their cellphones or their landlines. Campaigns can easily obtain a list of voters' telephone numbers for a nominal fee through state voter registry databases, said Shaun Dakin, chief executive and founder of the National Political Do Not Contact Registry, a nonprofit advocacy program. According to the Pew Research Center, 15 percent of American adults use only a cellphone and have no landline at home.