One volunteer. One voter. One real conversation.
Peer-to-peer texting is the closest a campaign can get to a knock on the door at scale. A person writes, a person answers, and the answer goes to work.
What is peer-to-peer (P2P) texting in a political campaign?
Peer-to-peer texting is a person sending individual text messages to voters and carrying on a two way conversation with each reply, instead of blasting one message to a list. URSA runs P2P programs on Culper, our campaign software, with persuasion scripts written for each race. Every conversation ends with a disposition, like supporter or needs a ride, saved to the voter record.
P2P Versus Blast Texting
Blast or broadcast texting
- One message to the whole list at once.
- Replies go to a shared inbox, if anywhere.
- Reads like an ad because it is one.
- Tells the campaign who received it, not what they think.
Peer-to-peer on Culper
- A volunteer sends each message by hand and answers each reply.
- The opener comes from a neighbor with a name.
- Reads like a conversation because it is one.
- Ends with a disposition on the voter record: supporter, undecided, needs a ride, committed to a sign shift.
What a Good Opener Looks Like
A name, a real connection, permission and one small ask. Our persuasion scripts are written so volunteers can make them their own.
Illustrative script. Every opener names who is texting, and the first message carries opt out language.
Hi Mr. Patel, it's Kendra with the Fire District team, I live over on Cedar Bend. Got a second?
Sure, what's this about
Prop A on the May ballot funds a second station for our side of the district. Can I count on your vote?
Yes. When is early voting?
April 21 to 29 at the MUD building. Which day works for you? Reply STOP to opt out.
What Culper Handles
Compliance by default
Opt out language on every first message, texting hours enforced, and every STOP added to a suppression list no campaign can override.
One conversation per household
Culper keeps only usable mobile numbers and one contact per phone, so a family does not get the same text five times.
Queues that make sense
Unread replies first, then waiting, then new. Volunteers work from the phone app or the web, and it is the same queue.
Dispositions that drive the next step
Supporter, undecided, opposed, wrong number, needs a ride, will hold a sign. Each one feeds the next contact.
Even assignment
Contacts split evenly across texters and rebalance as volunteers join, without moving conversations already started.
Approved flyers only
Campaigns can attach one approved image. Volunteers cannot send their own files.
How a P2P Program Runs
Register and set up
Carrier registration for the campaign's texting, texting hours and the saved voter list in Culper.
Write the scripts
Opener, asks and replies to common answers, in the campaign's voice.
Recruit texters from the district
"I live on your street" is the strongest opener there is.
Text, then follow up
First asks well ahead, confirmations the night before and the morning of.
Scrub and report
Voters who have voted leave the queue daily, and the campaign sees commitments and results.
Is P2P texting legal for political campaigns?
Peer-to-peer texting, where a person sends each message individually, is widely used by campaigns. It still has rules: identify who is texting, include opt out language, honor every STOP and respect texting hours. Culper enforces these automatically. Campaigns should still review their program with counsel.
How many voters can one volunteer text?
It depends on the volunteer and how many replies come back, because every reply deserves an answer. Culper splits contacts evenly and rebalances as more texters join, so the workload stays manageable.
Where do the phone numbers come from?
From the campaign's voter universe in Culper: voter file records with phone numbers, licensed data such as L2 or i360, and numbers supporters provide. Only usable mobile numbers go into a P2P campaign.
What happens when a voter replies STOP?
They are added to a suppression list immediately and permanently. No campaign on Culper can text that number again.
Keep reading.
- Persuasion PsychologyWhy "go vote" fails and a one to one ask works. URSA writes persuasion scripts for Culper peer-to-peer texting that turn supporters into voters, built on decades of turnout research.
- CulperCulper is our campaign platform: a voter database you can query in plain English, peer-to-peer texting, SMS and email, GPS verified block walking, sign tracking, coverage maps and a contact history for every voter.
- Get Out the VoteURSA GOTV programs turn supporters into ballots: a chase list built in Culper, a daily early vote scrub, voting plans, rides, polling place asks and P2P persuasion scripts through Election Day.
Your victory starts here.
Tell us where you are running or what is on your ballot. We will show you who decides it, what moves them, and what it costs to reach them.
Schedule a Consultation