Texting Voters in an Indiana Local Race: Consent and Setup

To text voters in an Indiana city or town race, you need three things in place. First, written permission from each person you text, given before your first message. Second, a campaign committee with an EIN (its federal tax ID number) that can pass Campaign Verify, the check that confirms to the mobile phone companies that you are a real campaign. Third, a registered texting number that sends only to people who agreed to hear from you, and only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in their time zone.

Indiana's 2027 calendar makes the timing simple. Filing opens on Wednesday, January 6, 2027, the primary is on Tuesday, May 4, and the municipal election is on Tuesday, November 2, 2027. A Campaign Verify request made on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 covers both elections. One step needs checking before you apply: Campaign Verify looks for your committee filing online, and local committees in Indiana file with the county election board. This guide walks through consent, the committee, Campaign Verify and setup in order.

For the rest of the campaign, from filing to election day, see our guide to running for local office in Indiana.

Step 1: Get written permission before you text

Base your texting on prior express written consent: each person has agreed in writing, before your first message, to receive campaign texts from you at that number. In practice:

• Use a sign-up sheet or form that says so plainly. For example: "Yes, text me updates from the Lee for Town Council campaign. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help. Reply STOP to opt out." Include lines for the phone number and the date.
• Record the date and where the permission came from. Keep the paper sheets. In your texting account, note the source, such as "doors, March 9" or "library forum."
• Do not text people just because their number is on a list. A voter list, a purchased list or a list of neighbors is not permission.

Petition signers are not a texting list

Independent and minor party candidates collect signatures on Indiana's petition of nomination (form CAN-44). The form says only that the signer wants to be able to vote for the candidate on the November ballot. It says nothing about texts. Do not text everyone who signed. Carry a separate sign-up sheet while you circulate, and ask each signer whether they would also like campaign updates by text. The same applies to people you meet on filing day, at forums or at the door: ask, and write it down.

A note on the FCC rule you may have heard about

You may read that the FCC requires consent to be given to one sender at a time. That rule never took effect. A federal appeals court vacated it on January 24, 2025, and the FCC removed it in August 2025. Written consent for your own campaign, recorded with a date, remains the standard to follow.

Step 2: Form your committee and get an EIN

Campaign Verify is available to 527 organizations, which means political committees with that federal tax status, registered with an election authority. Candidates with no committee, and sole proprietors, are not eligible.

In Indiana, a local candidate's committee files its statement of organization with the county election board, which in most counties is the circuit court clerk's office. Ask your county election board how and when your committee should file, and keep a copy of what you file.

Then get an EIN for the committee from the IRS. You need it for Campaign Verify.

Step 3: Confirm your filing is online, then request Campaign Verify

Check first

Campaign Verify checks your committee against a filing published online by an election authority, and it sends a PIN only to the contact information on that filing. Before you pay for a request:

1. Ask your county election board whether your committee's statement of organization is posted online, and where.
2. If it is online, check that the committee name, email, phone and mailing address are current, because the PIN goes only to those details.
3. If it is not online, contact Campaign Verify Support and ask how they handle a county filing that is not published online. Wait for their answer before you submit a request.

We cannot promise that any committee will be found eligible. That decision belongs to Campaign Verify.

Timing and cost

• Campaign Verify costs $95 per two-year cycle.
• A request made before Sunday, November 15, 2026 expires on Sunday, January 31, 2027, three months before the primary.
• A request made on or after November 15, 2026 lasts until Wednesday, January 31, 2029. For an Indiana candidate, that covers the May 4 primary and the November 2 election, so there is no reason to request earlier.

Our post on Campaign Verify for local candidates covers the process in more depth.

Step 4: Set up your texting in CampaignCNX+

Once your committee is in place, set up the sending side.

1. Open your account. A new pay-as-you-go account includes 100 free SMS, which you can use once your number is bought and approved. Your number is $5 a month.
2. Let CampaignCNX+ file the carrier registration. The carriers are the mobile phone companies, and they require a registration before campaign texts can be sent. CampaignCNX+ files it for you, either as 10DLC (the registration for texting from a standard local-style number, a one-time $75 for your first local line) or as toll-free. For a toll-free number, the carrier review usually takes about three business days. You buy the $95 Campaign Verify token from Campaign Verify, and CampaignCNX+ files it with your registration. Request the token for the kind of number you use, 10DLC or toll-free, because Campaign Verify issues a separate token for each.
3. Add your opted-in supporters. Sort them with tags and groups, such as "doors," "volunteers" or "filing day," and record the consent date and source in a custom field. Messages are sent to groups, and merge fields such as first name address each text to the person.
4. Plan for replies. Replies can come into a shared inbox, so you and your team members can read and answer them (staffers see the inbox once you allow it). The inbox is an add-on at $12.49 a month and is included on the Enterprise plan.
5. Schedule within quiet hours. Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone. You can schedule single texts, repeating texts and drip sequences (a series of texts sent on a schedule), such as a welcome series for new volunteers.
6. Let opt-outs take care of themselves. STOP, HELP and START replies are handled automatically.

What it costs

Pay-as-you-go texting costs $0.06 per SMS segment, and pay-as-you-go credits never expire. An MMS (a message with a picture) uses three credits, or $0.18 on pay-as-you-go. Monthly plans start with Basic at $55 a month for 1,000 texts, and unused plan texts roll over. For worked examples of a local race budget, see what it costs to text a local race.

Step 5: Send the right message at the right time

Indiana's calendar gives you natural moments to text. Keep each message short, name the campaign, and include "Reply STOP to opt out" on the first message to each person.

Welcome, after someone signs up:

Thanks for signing up. This is Pat Lee, running for Town Council. I'll text a few updates before May 4. Reply STOP to opt out.

Voter registration, before it closes on Monday, April 5, 2027:

Registration for the May 4 primary closes Mon, Apr 5. If you have moved, you can update it at indianavoters.in.gov. Thank you, Pat

Early voting, which opens on Tuesday, April 6, 2027 in the circuit court clerk's office:

Early voting is open at the county clerk's office through noon Mon, May 3, with Sat hours Apr 24 and May 1. Thank you, Pat

Primary day, Tuesday, May 4, 2027:

Today is the primary. Polls are open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thank you for your support. Pat Lee

For the November 2 election, the same moments return: registration closes on Monday, October 4, and early voting begins on Tuesday, October 5, 2027. Counties may reduce early voting days or hours in a municipal election year, so confirm your county's hours and polling places before you send. For texting rules across the region, see our page on campaign texting in the Midwest.

A short checklist

• Written, dated permission from every person you text.
• No texts to petition signers or filing-day contacts who did not separately agree.
• A committee with a statement of organization on file and an EIN.
• Committee filing confirmed online, or Campaign Verify Support consulted, before you request.
• Campaign Verify requested on or after November 15, 2026.
• Messages scheduled between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., with opt-outs handled.

Get set up before filing opens

Open your account now, and have your number registered before the busy weeks of January. Start your CampaignCNX+ trial.