Texting Voters in a Pennsylvania Local Race: Consent and Setup

To text voters in a Pennsylvania local race, you need three things in place. First, written permission from each person you text, given before your first message. Second, a registered political 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.

Two points are specific to Pennsylvania. Signing your nomination petition is not permission to receive texts, so petition season is a time to ask for permission separately. And Campaign Verify needs a filing published online by an election authority, so check that your local committee filing can be viewed online before you apply. This guide walks through consent, Campaign Verify and setup in order. For the rest of the campaign, from petitions to Election Day, see our guide to running for local office in Pennsylvania.

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 School Board campaign. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help. Reply STOP to opt out." Include a line 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, March 2."
• Do not text people because their number is on a list. A voter file, a purchased list or a list of your neighbors is not permission. Neither is a conversation at the door unless the person signed up.

Petition signers are not a texting list

From Tuesday, February 16 to Tuesday, March 9, 2027 (based on state law), you or your circulators (the people who collect signatures) will meet many voters in your party. A signature on a nomination petition supports your place on the ballot. It is not permission to receive texts. 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. A sign-up sheet counts as consent only if it says so plainly and the date is recorded.

Beacon's guide to Pennsylvania nomination petitions covers the petition rules themselves.

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: Have a committee and an EIN

Campaign Verify is available to 527 organizations, which means political committees with that federal tax status that have registered with an election authority. A candidate with no committee is not eligible, and neither is a sole proprietor. If you have not formed a committee, ask your county board of elections what forming and registering one involves for your office.

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

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 details on that filing. A filing made on paper at a local office may or may not be posted online. Before you pay for a Campaign Verify 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 and mailing address are current, since the PIN goes to those details.
3. If it is not online, contact Campaign Verify Support and ask how they handle a locally filed committee whose filing 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 on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 lasts until January 31, 2029. A request made before that date expires January 31, 2027. Pennsylvania's petition season does not begin until February 16, so there is no reason to request earlier.

Our explainer 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. Let us file the carrier registration. The carriers are the mobile phone companies, and they require a registration for campaign texting. CampaignCNX+ files it for you, either 10DLC (the carrier registration for texting from a local-style number, a one-time $75 for your first local line) or toll-free. For a toll-free number, the carrier review usually takes about three business days. You buy the Campaign Verify token from Campaign Verify, and we file 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 only opted-in supporters. Use tags and groups to sort them, such as "doors," "petition season" or "volunteers," and record each person's consent date and source in a custom field. Merge fields let you address each text by first name.
4. 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).
5. Let opt-outs take care of themselves. STOP, HELP and START replies are handled automatically.
6. Add replies or keywords if you need them. A shared inbox for replies is an add-on at $12.49 a month (included on Enterprise), and keyword replies are an add-on at $20 a month.

What it costs

Pay as you go is $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. The Basic plan is $55 a month for 1,000 texts, and unused plan texts roll over. For worked examples, see what it costs to text a local race.

Step 5: Send the right message at the right time

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

Remember that the primary is closed. Only voters registered in your party can vote for you on May 18, unless you are a school director candidate who cross-filed in both major parties. If supporters tell you how they are registered, you can record it in a custom field and send primary reminders to the right group.

Welcome, after someone signs up:

Thanks for signing up for Lee for School Board updates. I'll text a few key dates before the May 18 primary. Reply STOP to opt out.

Registration deadline, Monday, May 3, 2027 (based on state law):

Lee for School Board: Monday, May 3 is the last day to register or change party for the May 18 primary.

Mail ballot deadline, 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 11, 2027 (based on state law):

Lee for School Board: to vote by mail on May 18, apply by 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 11. Your county election office can help.

Primary day, Tuesday, May 18, 2027 (based on state law):

Hi [First name], today is the primary. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thank you for supporting Lee for School Board.

Before sending, confirm each date with your county board of elections. For the fall, the same reminders apply to the November 2 election, with Monday, October 18 as the registration deadline and 5 p.m. Tuesday, October 26 as the mail ballot deadline (both based on state law).

A short checklist

• Written, dated permission from every person you text.
• No texts to petition signers who did not separately agree.
• A registered committee with 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.

For the rules that apply to campaign texting in every state, see our political texting guide.

Get set up before petition season

Petition season runs from February 16 to March 9, and the primary campaign follows right after. Have your committee in place, your filing confirmed online and your number registered before then. Start a trial when your committee is ready.