How did you get this number? The lowdown on election texts, robocalls from political parties
Elections Alberta the primary source, NDP and UCP say
Robocalls, automated texts, and campaign mail.
It's officially election season and with it comes the expected deluge of correspondence as parties vie for votes. And there's plenty on the ballot to talk about: health care, crime, and more.
Mobile phones are now every campaign's most valuable piece of real estate.
"You might drive past the billboard or you might flip past the printed page, but if your phone makes a notification, you're going to look at it," said Peter Csillag, director of public affairs at Wellington Advocacy, a national public affairs firm.
But when Albertans see a text from some unknown sender pop up on their phones, they may have one more immediate question: How did you get this number?
The answer, in many cases, is you gave it to them.
Spokespersons for both the NDP and UCP point to Elections Alberta as their primary source of contact information.
When Albertans register to vote — whether it be ahead of casting their ballot or at a polling station — they are required to provide their full name and address. Giving a telephone number is optional.
Information is collected one other way: Elections Alberta receives information from Alberta Education on 16- and 17-year-olds for a register of future electors. When they turn 18, that information is automatically transferred to the list of electors.
That list is available for use in campaigning.
Between elections, parties, MLAs and constituency associations can gain access to the list of electors. When the writ drops, access is opened up to candidates.
Elections Alberta stipulates that elector information must be used in a way that's consistent with electoral purposes. There is also a mandatory procedure in place to report any loss, unauthorized access, use or disclosure of the list of electors.
Misuse of information can result in fines up to $100,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.
Opting out
Political communications are exempt from anti-spam legislation and the national Do-Not-Call List but spokespersons for the UCP and NDP said they will honour requests to unsubscribe from messages.
Albertans can also request to have their number removed from the elector list by contacting Elections Alberta at 877-422-8683.
But Csillag, who served as a director of issues management for the UCP during the 2019 election, said there could be other sources from which parties draw contact information.
Those sources include the Canadian Numbering Plan, a public database of the first six digits for phone numbers by area, which can then be built on to identify full numbers.
"The other thing that folks don't think about as well is there's also the various interactions that people have had with parties in the past," Csillag said in an interview.
"Someone might not remember a 30-second conversation they had on their doorstep four years ago with a volunteer or a social media petition that they signed five years ago."
A spokesperson for Elections Alberta said parties may also purchase information from third parties but Csillag said that could infringe on privacy rights.
Csillag said meeting Albertans where they're at is a crucial strategy for any campaign — "political technology will determine political success."
He said the core principle behind robocalls and automated texts — getting the message out and encouraging supporters to vote — hasn't changed.
But what has changed is the means to reach people directly.
Polling day for the Alberta election is May 29.
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