A simple way to opt-out of receiving political texts

A report shows that a consumer's information is sold to third parties

(KYMA, KECY) - As the election looms closer, individuals may be noticing more phone calls, emails, and ads showing up more frequently this year.

As the campaign intensifies, the efforts to reach as many voters digitally as possible increases. New reports show how some campaigns have acquired numerous phone numbers and how to opt-out of receiving any.

"If there is a screen in front of you the campaigns are going to use it to reach you," says Govt. Professor Richard Longoria (Cameron University). "Whether it's television, social media, right through your phone through text messages."

On average, it estimates that Americans check their phone about 100 times a day, which motivates local and national campaigns to rely on text messages to get their notifications out, even if individuals never signed up to receive them.

Numerous messages have led some to call this year "The Texting Election."

The average consumer's information is sold to third parties.

Information is gathered from a survey, service, or retailer. That information is used to match public voter information.

If there is a human on the other end of the message, these unsolicited texts are legal. However, there is a way to opt-out.

According to Roger Cheng, CNET, "If you get a text message that you don't want, just reply 'stop' and they are obligated to stop sending you messages going forward."

The messages will stop, but only from that particular number, you may still get political texts from a different source.