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Do Not Call list does not apply to campaigns

(The Times Herald (MI))September 7, 2008
Woman wants to stop political calls
Do Not Call list does not apply to campaigns

By JASON ALEXANDER
Times Herald

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Port Huron resident Susan Horvath knows the phone is going to ring. And ring. And ring some more.

The 56-year-old has received several political campaign calls and she knows more are going to come.

The thing is, there is very little she can do stop them.

"I put my name on the Do Not Call list, so why can these political candidates and these research companies call?" Horvath said. "I don't want a call. Period."

The Federal Trade Commission's National Do Not Call Registry only includes

regulations against telemarketers trying to sell a product or a service. Calls from or on behalf of political organizations, charities and telephone surveyors are not covered. Also, companies from which there is an existing business relationship are allowed to call up to 18 months after a purchase or three months after an inquiry or application.

"It's really a free speech issue," said FTC spokesman Mitch Katz. "We are here to protect people's privacy, but free speech is important and politicians want to get their word out there. They do not fall under the definition of telemarketing, and there are no plans to include them in the registry."

That doesn't sit well with Horvath and other area residents who simply want to be left alone.

Horvath went on vacation last winter, and when she checked her answering machine, it sometimes would be half full of automated messages. She's afraid the same thing is going to happen this fall.

"I'm on that list, and I wish it was for everything," she said. "People are going to be pulling their hair out by October."

Horvath is not alone in her frustration. The Citizens for Civil Discourse, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group, has started a National Political Do Not Call Registry. Shaun Dakin, chief executive officer and founder of the group, which is based in Washington, D.C., hopes someday the registry at his Web site, www.stoppoliticalcalls.org, registry can help people opt out of political calls. He currently has 60,000 members.

However, candidates must sign up and agree to honor the list. Even then, there aren't any harsh fines like there are for violating the federal Do Not Call list.

He has seven candidates that have agreed not to call the members who have joined, but none of the candidates are from Michigan.

"We are not looking to ban political speech," Dakin said. "We just want to give voters a way to opt out."

The group also researches existing laws to see if anything already has been enacted to help stop political calls. He said Michigan residents are pretty much out of luck.

"Michigan doesn't have much of an existing law," Dakin said. "Nothing has happened in Michigan, even though they are hit hard with a lot of automated calls since it is a battleground state."

He suggested people sign up for his registry -- free for a single phone number and $1.24 to add more information, such as e-mail and home addresses -- and then call local candidates and demand they sign up and honor that list.

Katz said election time is definitely the worst for unwanted calls.

"If people can hang in there until after the elections, the calls will drop off," he said. "I would tell people to wait and get the call, and then tell them you don't want to be called again."