Texting Voters in a Virginia Local Race: Consent and Setup

To text voters in a Virginia 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.

Virginia's 2027 calendar sets the timing. Primary candidates collect petition signatures from Friday, January 1, 2027 and file by Thursday, April 1. The primary is on Tuesday, June 15, and the general election is on Tuesday, November 2, 2027. A Campaign Verify request made on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 covers both elections. One step needs checking before you apply: Campaign Verify looks for your committee's filing online, so confirm where yours can be viewed. This guide walks through consent, the committee, 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 Virginia.

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 School Board 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 school directory or a list of neighbors is not permission.

Petition signers are not a texting list

Almost every Virginia candidate collects signatures on ELECT's Petition of Qualified Voters (form ELECT-506/521). The form asks each signer for a name, signature, residence address and date. It does not ask for a phone number or for permission to text, and it tells the signer that a signature "does not signify an intent to vote for the candidate." So do not text everyone who signed.

Never add a phone or texting line to the petition itself. ELECT says the form "cannot be altered in any way." Instead, have each circulator carry a separate sign-up sheet, and ask each signer whether they would also like campaign updates by text. The same applies to people you meet at forums, on filing day 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.

Check with the Department of Elections for the filings that apply to your campaign, and 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 the Department of Elections or your general registrar whether your 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 your situation. 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 the petition deadline.
• A request made on or after November 15, 2026 lasts until Wednesday, January 31, 2029. For a Virginia candidate, that covers the June 15 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. 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. Sort them with tags and groups, such as "doors," "circulators" 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 circulators.
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

Virginia'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. The registration and early voting dates below are based on state law, so confirm them with your general registrar before you send.

Welcome, after someone signs up:

Thanks for signing up. This is Sam Rivera, running for School Board. I'll text a few updates before Nov 2. Reply STOP to opt out.

Asking a volunteer to help circulate, before the April 1 primary filing deadline:

Hi [First name], we need a few more signatures in your neighborhood before Apr 1. Can you help Sat? Reply SIGN and we'll call you. Thank you, Sam

Voter registration, before it closes on Friday, October 22, 2027:

Registration for the Nov 2 election closes Fri, Oct 22. If you have moved, update it with your registrar. Thank you, Sam

Early voting, which ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 30, 2027:

Early voting is open at your registrar's office through 5 p.m. Sat, Oct 30. Thank you for your support, Sam

Election day, Tuesday, November 2, 2027:

Today is Election Day. Polls are open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thank you for your support. Sam Rivera

For a June 15 primary, the same moments come earlier: registration closes on Friday, June 4, and early in-person voting ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 12, 2027. Early voting begins about 45 days before each election, and your general registrar publishes the exact first day and hours. For campaign texting in general, see our political texting page.

A short checklist

• Written, dated permission from every person you text.
• No texts to petition signers or forum contacts who did not separately agree.
• Nothing added to the petition form itself.
• A committee with an EIN, and its 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 busy months

Open your account now, and have your number registered before petition season fills your weekends. Start your CampaignCNX+ trial.