Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama won a text message election held during the CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008 trade show held earlier this month in San Francisco.
Obama received 56% of the vote to edge out his Republican opponent John McCain, according to a news release. From Sept. 10-12, a few hundred attendees cast their ballots by texting “Obama” or “McCain” to the shortcode 2VOTE (28683).
The mock election was held by using the mBlox mobile transaction network and mobile technology provided by Local Solutions Network.
“This is a terrific example of how shortcodes can be used to reach people who are truly mobile and on the go,” said Steve Livingston, mBlox CMO. “Mobile shortcodes are very effective tools for a wide variety of uses.”
According to Nielson Mobile, 116 million Americans actively use text messaging on a daily basis. The Obama campaign has embraced using wireless technology to reach voters. The campaign sends out text messages to supporters and has launched a mobile Web site.
Lee Durham, LSN president, said shortcodes can easily be customized by changing keywords.
“Our job is to make it as easy as possible to vote for virtually anything or anyone and this case, potentially the next president of the United States,” Durham said.
Obama elected by CTIA I.T. attendees
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