Texting Voters in a Michigan Local Race: Consent and Setup

To text voters in a Michigan city 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.

Michigan's 2027 city calendar sets the timing. In cities with a primary, petitions are due by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20, 2027, the primary is on Tuesday, August 3, and the city general election is on Tuesday, November 2, 2027 (dates computed from state law; confirm them with your city clerk). A Campaign Verify request made on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 covers all of them. One step needs checking before you apply: Campaign Verify looks for your committee filing online, and a Michigan city candidate's committee files with the county clerk. This guide walks through consent, the committee, Campaign Verify and setup in order.

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

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 Rivera for City 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, May 12" 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

Michigan city candidates generally file a nominating petition. The petition's heading says only that the signers nominate you for the office. It says nothing about texts, so do not text everyone who signed. Keep a separate sign-up sheet while you circulate, and ask each signer whether they would also like campaign updates by text. Do not write anything extra on the petition sheet itself, because its form is set by state law. Beacon's guide to Michigan nominating petitions covers the petition rules in full. The same consent rule applies to people you meet 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 Michigan, a city candidate's committee files its statement of organization with the county clerk. City and township clerks may not accept it, so do not file it with your city clerk along with your petition. Ask your county clerk how 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 clerk 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, before your petition is even due.
• A request made on or after November 15, 2026 lasts until Wednesday, January 31, 2029. For a Michigan city candidate, that covers the August 3 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.
3. Add your opted-in supporters. Sort them with tags and groups, such as "doors," "volunteers" or "petition drive," 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, and for the general steps in any state, see how to text voters.

Step 5: Send the right message at the right time

Michigan'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 Sam Rivera, running for City Council. I'll text a few updates before Aug 3. Reply STOP to opt out.

Absent voter ballots, available from Thursday, June 24, 2027 for the August 3 primary:

Absent voter ballots for the Aug 3 city primary are available now. You can request yours at Michigan.gov/Vote. Thank you, Sam

Voter registration, before online and mail registration closes on Monday, July 19, 2027:

Moved recently? Register online or by mail by Mon, Jul 19. After that, register in person at your city clerk's office with proof of residency. Sam

Primary day, Tuesday, August 3, 2027:

Today is the city primary. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thank you for your support. Sam Rivera

For the November 2 election, the same moments return: absent voter ballots on Thursday, September 23, and online and mail registration through Monday, October 18, 2027. Early in-person voting is optional for an election with only local items, so do not mention it unless your clerk confirms it. 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 forum contacts who did not separately agree.
• A committee filed with the county clerk, 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 the petition deadline

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