Joanna Rees Robocalls Irk Voters. Democracy Can Be Annoying.

• It's happening again. I just got a robo call on my cell phone from Jeff Adachi and the pension reform campaign. So I called the SF Department of Elections to find out if, somehow, someone had changed my voter reg to show my cell phone number instead of my land line number. No change had been made -- it's my land line on my voter reg form. The woman who answered the phone at the Dept of Elections said the thing had happened to her.

• Akit, you are right, unsolicited robocalls to cell phones are a violation of federal law. The relevant statute is 47 U.S.C. 227 section b, "Restrictions on the use of automated telephone equipment." If you got one of these calls on a cell phone, congratulations, you are now entitled to collect $500.

• Political communications are protected speech. The do not call lists don't apply to political calls - robo or live.

• Shaun, I'm sorry to here that robo calls are illegal unless preceded by a live human operator. Robo calls are one inexpensive way that grassroots candidates without corporate backing can get the word out that they are running and what they stand for. Robo calls are one way progressive candidates can compete with the likes of corporate-backed candidates (there are plenty of examples in SF). That being said, both my land line and my cell phone numbers are on the Do Not Call List. But, I repeat, when I registered to vote, I included my land line number. And I get robo calls on my land line on a regular basis, and I don't mind getting them because I like knowing what's going on. My cell phone? I use my cell phone sparingly because of concerns about health and because I pay for calls and texts after a certain amount of usage. How did Joanna Rees's campaign get my cell phone number? And how do anonymous scammers find my cell phone number and send me texts about this or that offer to wire $1,500 into my account? I repeat, I have listed my cell phone number on the Do Not Call List. * California Public Utilities Code Sections 2871-2876 The California Public Utilities Code specifically makes robo calls that are not preceded by a live human operator illegal.

• No mystery there. You either worked or volunteered on a campaign or joined a political club where you gave your cell out. They sell or trade those contacts as well. No smart activist gives out anything but backstopped contact info. Silly Greenie

• Erin, I did indeed include my phone number when I registered to vote many years ago -- my land line phone number, not my cell phone number. I get political robo calls all the time to my land line. This is the first time I have ever gotten a political robo call to my cell phone. So the question remains: how did Joanna Rees's campaign get my cell phone number?

• Isn't robocalling illegal on cell phones? I already reported her ass to the FCC. She might as well pay my cell phone bill too for wasting my precious minutes.

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