NewsNational PoliticsElection 2024

'I am fed up': Metro Detroiters burnt out by onslaught of political texts and calls

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It seems as though there's really no escape from these campaign communications, and these campaign messages from both sides won't slow down anytime soon.

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"It's overwhelming," says Wendy, an independent voter.

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"I am fed up," said Charles Williams. "Just let me make my decision like everyone else and go on with it."

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"I get them all day long," said Democrat Sharida Niace.

Many voters, from Republicans, Independents and Democrats are expressing frustration over the sheer number of these campaign texts.

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"Everyday I'm getting at least one or a couple," Armando told me.

And voters like him are feeling fed up with the pressure of constant political outreach.

"They're annoying," Armando said. "They're at the point now where I don't even open them, I just go straight to delete."

I spoke with Dave Dulio, the Director for the center of Civic Engagement at Oakland University, about why we get so many of these texts and asked when we can expect these political messages to come to a hault.

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"A lot of it is because we have very competitive races at the top of the ticket," Dulio said. "Those text messages and social media ads will continue right up to Election Day."

Voters like Sharida are burnt out by all this.

"Yes, and the texts because I got a text like five minutes ago saying to volunteer, how do I feel about this, and a couple of them have asked me why I haven't answered them back yet."

"I have to go through and delete messages that are unwarranted, and I did not ask for," Wendy said. "It's a lot of time wasted."

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Republican Bobby Mathis says he's getting 4-5 texts and/or calls a day.

"I am sick of it already," Bobby said. "(It starts) first thing in the morning until the end of the day."

"You have to click this and click that and you still don't get anywhere," Charles said. "You still get the harassment with all the texts coming in all the time.

Now you can reply 'STOP' to these messages, but don't stop there. You can also go into your phone settings and filter out texts from anyone not in your contact list.

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