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"Robo-calls" reach 2 out of 3 U.S. voters: study
2006-12-20
Nearly two out of three U.S. voters received the much-despised prerecorded "robo-calls" from political candidates during the past election, according to a survey released on Wednesday. The Pew Internet and American Life Project found that the automated messages trailed only direct mail among "get out the vote" techniques used by political candidates in the November elections. "Direct mail can go from the mailbox to the wastebasket, but with a robo-call at least you've picked up the phone," said Pew Director Lee Rainie. "The chance of capturing even a sliver of people's attention is somewhat greater, I would guess." Phone calls from actual human beings were less common, the survey found. Sixty-four percent of registered voters surveyed said they had received a robo-call before the last election, while 24 percent said they had received a political call from a live person. Republicans were more likely than Democrats or independents to receive robo-calls, the survey of 2,562 people found. Recorded telephone solicitations have been prohibited by the Federal Communications Commission since 1991, and the Federal Trade Commission may tighten the ban further in January. But those rules don't apply to politicians in most states, and robo-calls have emerged as a staple of recent elections. Robo-calls are an effective, if annoying, way to reach voters, said Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis. "When you come down to the final days and you have limited amounts of funds to use they are one of the few ways you can effectively, quickly and in a very targeted manner spend money," Anuzis said in a telephone interview. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has called for curbs on the use of misleading robo-calls after several of his Democratic colleagues complained of deceptive automated calls in the last election. Several states are also considering extending the robo-call ban to cover political calls.
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