Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign asked students at all three of the state’s public universities for their votes in mass texts sent out over the weekend, causing an uproar from GOP activists, influencers, and leaders. A leading Senate Republican has threatened to launch an investigation the matter.
Other posts and reports online indicate that students at nearly all other major universities nationwide received the same vote-request texts as well.
Arizona State University (ASU), University of Arizona (UA), and Northern Arizona University (NAU) students all received texts from the Harris campaign ahead of Monday’s deadline to register to vote.
The three universities and the Arizona Board of Regents told Arizona Daily Star that they’re required by federal law to make student contact information public unless students opt out, meaning all that data is available with a public request. The three universities also reported that they didn’t receive any requests from the Harris campaign, likely meaning a third party acquired and supplied the data.
“Hi [Wildcats/Sun Devils/Lumberjacks], it’s Kamala Harris. I wanted to remind you that the deadline to register to vote in Arizona is Monday, October 7. Thanks to record turnout among college students in 2020, I am Vice President of the United States today. Tim Walz and I are the underdogs in this election, but student voters could make all the difference. We need your support to win. As a [University of Arizona/Arizona State University/Northern Arizona University] student, you can register and vote in Arizona. Register to vote at your on or off campus housing address today at [iwillvote.com/uaz / iwillvote.com/asu / iwillvote.com/nau ]. Your vote is your voice and your power. You must not let anybody take your power from you. – Kamala Harris.”
🚨MAJOR BREAKING: 150,000 students from ALL Arizona universities including ASU and UofA have received a text from Kamala Harris’ campaign telling the students to vote for her.
If Kamala Harris has access to all of Arizona college students’ phone numbers, what ELSE do they have? pic.twitter.com/YlolDGSr9T
— College Republicans at ASU (@asu_gop) October 6, 2024
Those “I Will Vote” links lead to a landing site paid for by the Democratic National Committee.
State Senator Jake Hoffman said that he would open a full Senate investigation. Hoffman claimed that political campaigns may not access the personally identifiable information of public university students within Arizona.
“I’m receiving lots of evidence from many Arizona public university students who received unsolicited text messages promoting Kamala Harris for president that appear to have come from Arizona universities illegally providing their personally identifiable information to her campaign,” said Hoffman. “This seems like yet more election interference in Arizona, which is why my investigation for the Arizona Senate has already begun.”
🚨KAMALA EXPLOITS PRIVATE STUDENT DATA FOR CAMPAIGN
It is ILLEGAL for political campaigns to access personally identifiable information (PII) of public university students within AZ.
This is a MAJOR security breach!
I will be opening a full Senate investigation immediately. https://t.co/mfYFrQ6met
— Jake Hoffman (@JakeHoffmanAZ) October 7, 2024
However, the three universities said that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) considers phone numbers to be “directory information,” as well as student names, addresses, date and place of birth, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, and dates of attendance.
“A school may disclose ‘directory information’ to third parties without consent if it has given public notice of the types of information which it has designated as ‘directory information,’ the parent’s or eligible student’s right to restrict the disclosure of such information, and the period of time within which a parent or eligible student has to notify the school in writing that he or she does not want any or all of those types of information designated as ‘directory information,’” says the Department of Education website.
Even so, right-wing activists and influencers online demanded an investigation.
Charlie Kirk, CEO and founder of Phoenix-based Turning Point USA, called the mass texting effort “a major scandal” necessitating investigation. TPUSA’s activism arm, Turning Point Action, has launched a “ballot-chasing” operation in key swing states, including Arizona.
Where did the Kamala Harris campaign get access to this database? This is a major scandal. AZ House needs to investigate immediately. https://t.co/20hpudQza5
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) October 7, 2024
FCC regulations require prior consent for robotexts using an autodialer, but messages sent manually may be sent without prior consent.
Those who believe they received a political robocall or text that does not comply with the FCC’s rules may file a complaint with the FCC at fcc.gov/complaints. Reports may be also filed by forwarding the texts to 7726 (or “SPAM”).
