Cooper: Don't use robocalls

Roy Cooper wants candidates to respect the Do Not Call Registry.

The state attorney general urged political campaigns to voluntarily respect the registry in a letter to the Republican and Democratic parties Friday.

"People in North Carolina who have signed up for the Do Not Call Registry have said loud and clear that they don't want to be bothered with telephone solicitations," he wrote.

He also spoke before a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday, urging them to pass national restrictions.

The 2003 law, which Cooper helped pass, protects North Carolinians who register from commerical, but not political telephone solicitations. There are currently four million phone numbers on the state's Do Not Call Registry.

Under the current law, political robo calls, automated messages from candidates, must identify who is calling, the nature of the call and provide contact information.

His office received hundreds of complaints following unwanted calls during the 2006 election. In 2007, Cooper began pushing state Senate Bill 1002, which prohibits candidates and parties from making robocalls. It has not yet passed.

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This is a terrible idea. It limits political free speech that is crucial to our system of government. It will make elections even more expensive because it will almost cut-out an inexpensive and effective way of advertising a candidates message to the voters and it also pushes the candidate to use more expensive avenues of advertising such as traditional snail mail, TV, radio, and email.

If this passes, will it extend to political polling, some of which is done by robo type polling of "push 1 to agree, push 2 to disagree"?

How will this be regulated and who will regulate it....and to what expense? Who will enforce this? What will the penalties be, a financial fine (more money for the state)?

How is a small race such as a county commission race or an NC House race on a shoestring budget, limited technical ability, and manpower supposed to take people off its voter call list who is on the Do Not Call List? Larger races such as for Congress, Metropolitan Mayor (Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro etc.)governor etc. can afford the technological know-how and manpower to do this...maybe.

So let me get this straight, in the days of caller ID, answering machines, and more and more people using cell phones instead of land lines; a few folks who are inconvenienced by a 30 second robo call a few times a year promts the need for more bureaucracy and governmental regulation (part taxpayer expense - part candidate expense) to end a perceived annoyance from a candidate who only wants his/her message to register in a voters mind for consideration on election day?

What's next a "National Do Not Email List", a "National Do Not TV commercial me because I'm so tired of seeing the same "Toyota-thon" ad list"?

At a time when we all would like more election participation, this seems to encourage just the opposite.

Cooper: Don't use robocalls

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