The GOP's leading campaign and fundraising arm, the Republican National Committee, has quietly thrown its support behind a proposal at the Federal Communications Commission that would pave the way for marketers to auto-dial consumers' mobile phones and leave them prerecorded voicemail messages.
The method will mean that your devices will never ring, but you will think you have a message you have to listen to.
Under current federal law, telemarketers and others, like political groups, aren't allowed to launch robocall campaigns targeting mobile phones unless they first obtain a consumer's written consent.
Corporations insist that "ringless voicemail" is different because it is technically doesn't qualify as a phone call in the first place.
They have been lobbying politicians saying that they shouldn't need a customer or voter's permission if they want to auto-dial mobile voicemail inboxes in bulk pre-made messages about a political candidate, product or cause.
They want the FCC to rule, once and for all, that they're in the clear. Their argument, however, has drawn immense opposition from consumer advocates.