Texting Voters in a Mississippi Local Race: Consent and Setup

To text voters in a Mississippi county or legislative 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.

Mississippi's 2027 calendar gives you several moments to plan for. Qualifying closes at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 1, 2027, the party primary is on Tuesday, August 3, the primary runoff is on Tuesday, August 31, and the general election is on Tuesday, November 2, 2027. 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 campaign's filing online, so confirm where yours is posted first. This guide walks through consent, the committee, Campaign Verify and setup in order.

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

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 Supervisor 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, April 10" or "community forum, May 22."
• Do not text people just because their number is on a list. A voter list, a purchased list or a church directory is not permission.

Petition signers are not a texting list

Independent candidates and election commissioner candidates collect signatures on a qualifying petition. The Secretary of State's petition form asks only that the candidate's name be placed on the ballot, with each signer's signature, printed name, address and precinct. 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 at the circuit clerk's office, 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.

For anything Mississippi requires of your campaign beyond qualifying, check with the Secretary of State for any other filings. Keep a copy of everything 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 where your filing is posted. Legislative candidates can ask the Secretary of State's Elections Division. County candidates can ask the circuit clerk or the Secretary of State whether their campaign's filing can be viewed 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 local 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, the day before qualifying closes.
• A request made on or after November 15, 2026 lasts until Wednesday, January 31, 2029. For a Mississippi candidate, that covers the August 3 primary, the August 31 runoff and the November 2 general 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 a community name, 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 a step-by-step walk-through of texting for any campaign, see our guide on how to text voters.

Step 5: Send the right message at the right time

Mississippi'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 Supervisor, District 3. I'll text a few updates before Aug 3. Reply STOP to opt out.

Voter registration, in June:

Registration for the Aug 3 primary closes in early July. If you have moved, check with the circuit clerk's office. Thank you, Pat

Confirm the exact registration deadline with your circuit clerk before you send, because the thirtieth day before August 3 is a Sunday and a holiday.

Primary day, Tuesday, August 3, 2027:

Today is the primary. Thank you for your support. Find your polling place with the circuit clerk's office. Pat Lee

Runoff, if there is one, Tuesday, August 31, 2027:

Our race goes to a runoff on Tue, Aug 31. Please vote again. Thank you for standing with us. Pat Lee

For the November 2 general election, the same moments return. Voter registration closes on Monday, October 4, 2027 (based on state law), because thirty days before November 2 is a Sunday. Confirm polling places with your circuit clerk before you send. For texting across campaigns, see our political texting page.

A short checklist

• Written, dated permission from every person you text.
• No texts to petition signers or event contacts who did not separately agree.
• A committee and an EIN, with your 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 qualifying closes

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