Bean proposes limits on political robocalls
Does this campaign-season scenario sound familiar?
You're enjoying dinner with your family when suddenly the phone rings. You pick up the receiver, only to hear an automated, recorded message from a political candidate urging to you vote or attend a political event.
At that point, many people hang up, curse the politician whose voice was on the line and wonder why such robocalls are allowed.
But many soon might not be, under newly unveiled congressional legislation.
U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean of Barrington and other lawmakers have proposed limiting the use of robocalls by candidates for federal office.
The plan, introduced Wednesday, mirrors a companion Senate bill. It would:
• Prohibit such calls between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.
• Ban more than two calls per day to the same phone number from the same candidate, party or interest group.
• Require the sponsor of the call to be clearly identified at the beginning of the call.
• Require the caller's phone number be displayed on the voter's caller ID system.
Bean, a Democrat from the suburban 8th District, has been particularly concerned about robocalls since her 2006 re-election campaign, when supporters of her Republican opponent barraged voters with automated calls.
Some of the calls began "Hello, I'm calling with information about Melissa Bean," leading many people to mistakenly believe the messages were from Bean's campaign team. Angry voters flooded her office with complaints, she said.
"When it's used correctly, (an automated call) can be an informative tool," Bean said. "But when it's used as a form of harassment or deception or voter suppression, then restrictions are needed."
The Federal Election Commission would enforce the rules. Violations would be punishable with fines of $1,000 per incident.
Similar legislation was introduced last month in the state House. It would prohibit using an autodialer to call residents registered with the Illinois Restricted Call Registry and would require a live operator to obtain consent for the call, among other restrictions.
That bill has been referred to the state House's rules committee.