Texting Voters in a Texas Local Race: Consent and Setup

To text voters in a Texas city council, mayor or school board 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.

The 2027 calendar sets the timing. Filing runs from Wednesday, January 13 to 5 p.m. on Friday, February 12, 2027, and many cities and school districts vote on Saturday, May 1, 2027. A Campaign Verify request made on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 lasts until January 31, 2029, which covers the May election, any June runoff and the November 2027 election. One step needs checking before you apply: Campaign Verify looks for your committee's filing online. 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 Texas.

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 Garza 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, March 6" or "library forum."
• Do not text people just because their number is on a list. A voter list, a purchased list, a neighborhood group roster or a list of contacts is not permission. In a school board race, that includes school directories, class lists and parent group rosters.

Petition signers are not a texting list

Most Texas city and school candidates file no petition. In a home-rule city whose charter requires a filing fee, the charter must also offer an alternative, such as a petition, and some candidates file one instead of paying. That petition is a ballot document. It does not ask signers whether they want campaign texts, so do not text everyone who signed. If you circulate one, carry a separate sign-up sheet and ask each signer whether they would also like updates by text. The same applies to people you meet at forums, block walks or the filing office: 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.

Set up your campaign committee, keep a copy of every filing you make, and check with the Texas Ethics Commission for any other filings. 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. Find your committee's filing online. Search for it on the website of the office where it was filed.
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 you cannot find it online, contact Campaign Verify Support and ask how they handle a 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 May election.
• A request made on or after November 15, 2026 lasts until Wednesday, January 31, 2029. For a Texas candidate, that covers the May 1 election, a possible runoff and the November 2, 2027 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 "forum," 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

The 2027 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 Ana Garza, running for City Council Place 2. I'll text a few updates before May 1. Reply STOP to opt out.

Voter registration, before it closes on Thursday, April 1, 2027:

Registration for the May 1 city election closes Thu, Apr 1. If you have moved, update your registration by then. Thank you, Ana

Early voting. The Secretary of State lists early voting in person from Monday, April 19 to Tuesday, April 27, 2027. A 2025 law, Senate Bill 2753, may change those dates once it takes effect, so confirm your city's or district's schedule and locations before you schedule this text:

Early voting is open [Day, Date] to [Day, Date]. Find your location at [county elections website]. Thank you, Ana

Election day, Saturday, May 1, 2027:

Today is election day. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thank you for your support. Ana Garza

If your race requires a majority and goes to a runoff, it will be held on a Saturday the Secretary of State designates between Monday, May 31 and Tuesday, June 15, 2027 (based on state law), and the same moments return on a shorter schedule. For the rules that apply in every state, see our political texting guide.

A short checklist

• Written, dated permission from every person you text.
• No texts to petition signers, school lists or voter lists without separate permission.
• A committee with an EIN, and a filing you can find online.
• Campaign Verify requested on or after November 15, 2026, after confirming the filing is online or consulting Campaign Verify Support.
• 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 and February. Start your CampaignCNX+ trial.