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ROBO CALL COMPANY AGREES TO JOIN FORCES WITH THE NATIONAL POLITICAL “DO NOT CALL” REGISTRY TO REDUCE VOTER ROBO CALLS

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

DEMOCRATIC DIALING BECOMES THE NATIONS’ FIRST ROBO CALLING FIRM TO PLEDGE NOT TO "ROBO CALL” VOTERS WHO SIGN UP FOR DO NOT CALL REGISTRY

WASHINGTON, D.C. April, 8th   2008 – The National Political Do Not Contact Registry (NPDNC)   today announced that the nations’ leading robo calling company,   Democratic Dialing (DD) (DemocraticDialing.com), has joined forces   with the NPDNC to reduce unwanted political robo calls during this   once in a lifetime Presidential election.   Voters who   register their phone number for free at the NPDNC Registry -   StopPoliticalCalls.org - can be assured that any candidate that   hires Democratic Dialing for robo calls will not be robo called during    this election season.

Democratic Dialing is the   nation’s first robo calling firm to recognize that voters that do   not want to be called by politicians deserve a voluntary way to   opt-out of political robo calls.   DD also is one of the only   firms that voluntarily abides by a Robo call code of conduct that   goes above and beyond any current or proposed robo call   legislation. The firm expects to make hundreds of millions of robo calls on behalf of 100’s of candidates and campaigns in 2008.

”It does our clients no good to call voters who are only annoyed by receiving robo calls. In fact, it often does more harm than good,” said Rick Gilmore, CEO of Democratic Dialing.   “Removing phone numbers of voters who voluntarily register to opt-out from our call lists saves our clients money,   ensures a more effective calling campaign, and engenders more goodwill in the community. Political robo calls are the most economical, effective, and nimble of all voter contact strategies, but there may well be a   significant backlash against candidates who who do not apply sensitivity and common sense to their calls. We have always stressed our internal Do Not Call list and this is a logical extension of that. Frankly, we are convinced this is good policy for us, and good politics for our clients.    We are delighted to be on board with The National Political Do Not Contact Registry at StopPoliticalCalls.org."

By joining with the National Political Do Not Contact Registry, Democratic Dialing is giving voters across the nation the chance to remove their phone numbers from all   local, state, and national robo call campaigns managed by DD encouraging voters to go directly to The National Political Do Not Contact Registry (NPDNC) website at StopPoliticalCalls.org and registering their phone numbers for free.

“It is a real breakthrough that one of the leading robo calling firms in the nation has decided to join forces with the NPDNC Registry to reduce the number of unwanted political robo calls that voters will receive this year.    I am pleased that Rick Gilmore is the nation’s first Robo Calling Consultant to take the “do not robo call” pledge and will be working to ensure that all candidates that hire DD will not call voters who sign up for free at StopPoliticalCalls.org.,” said Shaun Dakin, founder and CEO of StopPoliticalCalls.org. “To my knowledge,   Democratic Dialing is the first firm in the country to be clear about their intention to reduce unwanted political robo calls. The voters of the nation are fortunate to have someone like Rick Gilmore running Democratic Dialing.”

The National Political Do Not Contact Registry fills a void in the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) National Do Not Call (DNC)   registry.    Because the First Amendment protects political speech,   political calls are specifically excluded from the Federal DNC.   While Americans have registered nearly 150 million phone numbers with the DNC, Georgetown University research determined that 3 out of 4 voters do not know that political calls are exempt from the DNC. In fact, The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 81 percent of Iowa caucus voters received automated (or “robo”) calls during November 2007 and   that robo calling is now the preferred voter contact method of choice in   2008.

“I started the StopPoliticalCalls.org to give voters back their sanity during election season,” said Dakin.   “Many voters consider their homes to be a sanctuary and consider calls – especially the automated ‘robo’ calls – from politicians and political groups to be invasive.”

At the voluntary National Political Do Not Contact Registry, our members report receiving 10 to 15 calls about robocalls each day during election season. Mothers are having their babies awakened from   naps. Night shift workers who sleep during the day are not able to get the rest they need to be productive. Seniors live in fear of a health emergency   occurring while their phone line is tied up with yet another   robocall.

As a member wrote to us recently: "My 85-year-old mother who had a stroke sometimes is at home alone, and when these phone calls come in, it confuses her and gets her upset when someone doesn't listen to her. She doesn't understand that it is an automated call."

It is time for these calls to stop.

About Democratic Dialing –    www.DemocraticDialing.com:

Democratic Dialing is a leading robo calling firm that makes millions of robo calls for 100’s of clients across the nation.

Democratic Dialing is a different kind of robocalling company. DD realizes some people object to political robo calls, and they try hard to avoid calling them. Clients of Democratic Dialing, save money and calling projects will be more effective. Clients will also engender more goodwill in their community.

You can learn more about Democratic Dialing at www.democraticdialing.com <http://www.democraticdialing.com>

About the National Political Do Not Contact Registry –   StopPoliticalCalls.org:

The National Political Do Not Contact Registry is a program of Citizens for Civil Discourse (CCD), non-partisan,   non-profit organization (federal 501(c)(3) status pending) dedicated to elevating political discussion in the United States. CCD is based on the premise that the decline of civility in American political dialogue   has diminished our nation’s capacity to address urgent problems. Founder and   CEO Shaun Dakin believes that citizen action is required to restore decency, respect and common sense to public debate in this country.

CCD created the National Political Do Not Contact registry in October, 2007 as a first step towards its goal by reducing unwanted political phone calls, particularly automated messages (“robo” calls). Because the U.S.   Constitution protects political speech, CCD advocates addressing this issue not by enacting new legislation but by encouraging voters to take back   control of the political conversation and make free speech a two-way exchange. Learn more at www.StopPoliticalCalls.org <http://www.stoppoliticalcalls.org/>     <http://www.stoppoliticalcalls.org/>    .

Shaun Dakin, CEO and Founder, recently testified at the   U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration hearings on   Robocalls.   You can read his testimony and obtain a   video at: http://rules.senate.gov/hearings/

Currently the following politicians have   taken the National Political Do Not Contact (NPDNC) registry “do not robo call” pledge:

Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
Nancy Boyda (D-KS)
Matt Salisbury (R-ID)
Mike Carter (D-MO)