Now You Can Text Your Donation to Obama

The Obama and Romney campaigns are already basically spamming supporters via email, and now Obama 2012 is entering the brave new realm of text message donations and will begin accepting them for the first time this week. Donors can text "GIVE" to 62262 (corresponds with "Obama" on a phone keypad) to contribute less than $50 per month. Up to $200 can be donated via text throughout the election cycle.

The campaign may try to solicit such donations in ads and at events; charities including the American Red Cross already solicit donations in the same way. The Federal Election Commission only recently approved text message donations, the Washington Post reports, and the Romney campaign is expected to follow suit. Technically, since the donations will be charged to a user's wireless bill, they are then sold to the Obama campaign by the wireless carrier or a third-party processor for a fee. An Obama official says his team will "pay the most competitive rates available in the marketplace to ensure our supporters have the greatest impact with their contribution." (More Obama 2012 stories.)