Texting Voters in an Ohio Local Race: Consent and Setup

To text voters in an Ohio local 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.

One step needs particular care in Ohio. Campaign Verify relies on a filing published online by an election authority, and local candidates deal with their county board of elections, so check that your committee's filing can be viewed online before you apply. This guide covers consent, Campaign Verify and setup in the order you will do them. For the rest of the campaign, from your nominating petition to Election Day, see our guide to running for local office in Ohio.

Step 1: Get written permission before you text

The mobile phone companies, called carriers, require people to opt in (agree in advance) before an organization texts them, and that includes political campaigns. 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 Smith for Township Trustee 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, and note the source in your texting account, such as "doors, August 14."
• Do not text people just because you have their number. A voter file, a purchased list, a school directory or a club roster is not permission.

Petition signers are not a texting list

Every Ohio local candidate collects signatures on a nominating petition. The petition asks voters to nominate you as a candidate. It does not ask whether they want campaign texts, so signing it is not permission. Do not text everyone who signed.

Instead, carry a separate sign-up sheet while you circulate, and ask each signer whether they would also like campaign updates by text. Keep the two documents apart: your petition papers go to the board of elections, and the sign-up sheets stay with your campaign. For the petition itself, see the Ohio nominating petition guide on Beacon, our canvassing app's site.

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 Friday, 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: Set up your committee and get an EIN

Campaign Verify is available to 527 organizations, which means political committees with that federal tax status, registered with a federal, state or local election authority. Candidates with no committee are not eligible, and neither are sole proprietors.

Ask your county board of elections how to register your campaign committee for your office, and do it early. Then get an EIN for the committee from the IRS. You will need both 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 (a one-time code) only to the contact information on that filing. Before you pay for a request:

1. Ask your county board of elections whether your committee's filing is posted online, and where.
2. If it is online, check that the committee name, email, phone number and mailing address are current, since the PIN goes only to those.
3. If it is not online, contact Campaign Verify Support and ask how they handle a local committee whose filing is not published online. Do not submit a request until you have their answer.

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 on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 lasts until Wednesday, January 31, 2029. A request made before that date expires on Sunday, January 31, 2027, early in your campaign. Ohio's filing deadlines are Wednesday, February 3 and Wednesday, August 4, 2027, so most candidates can wait for the later cycle.
• The PIN arrives by email or text, or by mail in 5 to 10 business days, depending on which contact details are on your filing.

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. 100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month. The free texts can be used once your number is bought and approved.
2. Choose your number and let us file the registration. For a 10DLC number (a local-style number registered with the carriers for campaign texting), registration is a one-time $75 for your first local line. For a toll-free number, the carrier review usually takes about three business days. CampaignCNX+ files the registration for you. You buy your 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. Put them in groups, such as "supporters" and "volunteers," tag them by source, such as "doors" or "festival," and record each person's consent date and source in a custom field.
4. Personalize with merge fields. A merge field places each person's first name into the message.
5. Schedule within quiet hours. Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in each recipient's time zone. You can schedule single texts, repeating texts (such as a weekly volunteer reminder) and drip sequences (a series of texts sent on a schedule, such as a welcome series for new sign-ups).
6. Let opt-outs take care of themselves. STOP, HELP and START replies are handled automatically.
7. Answer replies as a team. Two-way replies arrive in a shared inbox, an add-on at $12.49 a month that is included on the Enterprise plan, so you and your team members can read and answer them (staffers see the inbox once you allow it).

What it costs

Pay as you go is $0.06 per SMS, and the credits never expire. Monthly plans are Basic at $55 for 1,000 texts, Pro at $225 for 5,000 and Enterprise at $695 for 20,000, and annual plans cost less per month. Unused plan texts roll over. An MMS (a message with a picture) uses three credits, or $0.18 on pay as you go. For more on how texting works for campaigns in the region, see our page on texting for Midwest campaigns.

Step 5: Send the right message at the right time

Ohio's 2027 calendar gives you natural moments to text. Keep each message short, name your 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 Smith, running for Township Trustee on Nov 2. I'll text a few key updates. Reply STOP to opt out.

Voter registration closes at 9 p.m. on Monday, October 4, 2027 (Franklin County schedule; confirm your county's date):

Smith for Trustee: today is the last day to register to vote for Nov 2. You can check your registration with the county board of elections.

Early voting opens Tuesday, October 5, 2027 (Franklin County schedule):

Smith for Trustee: early voting opens today. Hours and locations are on the county board of elections website. Thank you for your support.

Absentee applications are due by the close of business on Tuesday, October 26, 2027, based on state law. Point supporters to the board's form. Ohio law forbids anyone other than the voter from filling out any part of the application, so do not offer to complete it for them.

Smith for Trustee: voting by mail? Your absentee application must reach the board of elections by Tue, Oct 26.

Election Day, Tuesday, November 2, 2027. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Smith for Trustee: today is Election Day. Polls are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thank you for your support.

If your race has a May 4 primary, use the same pattern for the primary dates: the Franklin County schedule shows registration closing on Monday, April 5, 2027 and early voting opening on Tuesday, April 6, 2027. Before sending any reminder, confirm the details with your county board of elections. For more wording, see our campaign text templates for local races.

A short checklist

• Written, dated permission from every person you text.
• No texts to petition signers who did not separately agree.
• A committee registered with an election authority, and an EIN for the committee.
• Your committee's 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 automatically.

Get set up before the busy months

Ohio campaigns move quickly once petitions are filed, and October brings the registration deadline and early voting within two days of each other. Set up your committee and your number well before then. Start your CampaignCNX+ trial once your committee is in place.