From the Australian outback to Washington, D.C., Anna Quint has always been drawn to work that bridges diverse communities. Early in her career, she worked on an Aboriginal farm in Australia, an experience that deepened her appreciation for authentic voices and the importance of transparency.

Now, as the Executive Director of Campaign Verify, Anna plays a pivotal role in enhancing transparency and integrity in political messaging. Campaign Verify ensures that the identities of political entities are thoroughly verified, making certain that only authenticated actors participate in digital political communications. Her work leading the nonprofit is crucial in preventing disinformation and safeguarding the integrity of U.S. elections.

Anna’s expertise lies at the intersection of technology, policy, and social impact. Well-versed in programmatic verification, operations, and navigating complex regulatory environments, she is a trusted leader on both the tech and policy sides of political messaging.

In this installment of One Expert, One Topic, Anna shares her insights on Political ID Vetting, shedding light on how verification processes are essential in maintaining the credibility of political communications in the digital age.

About The Series

This is the twelfth installment in the “One Expert, One Topic” series, where field experts select a topic and share essential insights using Matt Abrahams’ What/So-What/Now-What format. Presented in written form, it allows readers more time to absorb the topic and guides them on where to go for further learning. Writing is both challenging and time-consuming; we are grateful to our contributors for sharing their wisdom in this format.

Topics in this contribution: 527 organizations, 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), American elections, authorization token, ballot measures, broadcast ads, The Campaign Registry, Campaign Verify, candidates, cellular carriers, Campaign Service Provider (CSP), CTIA, disinformation, election integrity, election security, email filtering, foreign interference, identity verification, Iran, message blocking, message throughput, nefarious actors, nonpartisan nonprofit, opt-in/opt-out protocols, PACs, political entities, political messaging, political parties, political spam, politicalmessaging.com, Rich Business Messaging (RBM), Russia, social media, spoofing, toll-free numbers, voter trust.

What?

Campaign Verify is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that verifies the identity of U.S. political entities, including campaigns, parties, PACs, ballot measures, candidates, and other 527 tax-exempt organizations that are registered with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) or a State, Local, or Tribal Election Authority. Each political entity submits an identity verification request which Campaign Verify manually reviews. Once the identity is verified (and 96% of all submissions are validated), Campaign Verify sends a confirmation PIN code that the entity can enter to create an authorization token. This token confirms that the entity’s identity has been validated, and wireless and digital networks can use the token to identify verified political entities versus unvetted (and potentially malicious) actors. When a campaign obtains an authorization token, it can also access the political use case within The Campaign Registry. This allows for increased message throughput and deliverability, helping campaigns communicate with their voters and supporters more effectively.

Currently, the verification process is required for A2P 10DLC political messaging. After a campaign generates its token, it provides it to its Campaign Service Provider (CSP), which submits the token as a component of a broader registration process with The Campaign Registry. The verification process does not entail any monitoring or evaluation of messaging content; it simply confirms that the entity is who it says it is in a strictly unbiased, nonpartisan manner.

Before Campaign Verify existed, political entities didn’t undergo dedicated identity verification, making the political messaging channel much less secure. Bad actors and foreign interference from adversarial countries, primarily Russia, China, and Iran, were a concern. Today, while unwanted political texts are common, abusive or malicious messaging from domestic or foreign actors has not been identified during the 2024 election season.

So What?

Campaign Verify is crucial because it helps ensure the integrity of political messaging. Its mission is to “provide a public service on a non-partisan basis to verify the integrity and authenticity of text message and other communications related to political campaigns and elections in order to educate the public, ensure public confidence in American elections, and protect political and civic rights in the election system.” Without proper identity verification, political senders can be easily impersonated, leading to disinformation which undermines the electoral process and threatens democracy.

By verifying political entities, Campaign Verify drastically reduces the potential for bad actors to interfere with elections. Identity spoofing, a major issue across multiple media (especially social media platforms), is a problem the public struggles with; it’s hard to discern what is real and what is not, and generative AI exacerbates this problem. The verification process helps ensure that the public receives messages from legitimate, verified sources, and does not receive messages intended to misguide voters and sow partisan discord in an already fractured society.

Political campaigns now rely heavily on text messaging to reach undecided voters and potential donors. With the distrust, restrictions, and inaccessibility of other forms of communication, text messaging provides a direct, cost-effective way for campaigns to engage with supporters. Conversely, political campaigns – particularly on the local level – may otherwise struggle to reach their audience due to the overwhelming amount of misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms, email filtering, costly ads, laborious door-knocking, and unanswered calls. However, to maintain the integrity of the texting ecosystem, senders must follow industry best practices, including respecting opt-in and opt-out protocols. If a recipient texts “STOP,” the phone number should be immediately removed from the campaign’s target list.

Now What?

Campaign Verify believes that all political entities, including established 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations that are primarily engaged in political activity, should be required to undergo identity verification, not just 527 organizations. Campaign Verify provides verification for 10DLC, but it’s essential that its verification requirement be applied to all messaging channels, including toll-free numbers, short codes, RBM (Rich Business Messaging) if and when political messaging is allowed, and potentially branded calling. Currently, certain political entities may bypass Campaign Verify’s vet, which opens the door to potential risks. Expanding identity verification would close the loopholes and protect the integrity of political discourse even further.

Additionally, with the rise of AI and deepfakes, campaigns and elections are becoming more vulnerable to fine-tuned impersonation and wide-scale disinformation attacks, and identity verification becomes critical for entities that are at a high risk of interference.

As an industry, political campaigns and all CSPs need to start adhering to messaging best practices. CTIA released a website, politicalmessaging.com, to guide campaigns in responsible messaging practices. By following these guidelines, political entities can avoid spamming the public, and communicate effectively and ethically.

Political messaging is a highly desirable communication channel for campaigns, but to maintain its credibility and value, all stakeholders must maintain high standards. Campaign Verify will continue to advocate for the broader adoption of identity verification and best practices to prevent the misuse of political messaging. To learn more about Campaign Verify, best practices for political messaging, or to explore identity verification for your campaign, visit campaignverify.org, politicalmessaging.com, or contact Campaign Verify directly at info@campaignverify.org.