MoveOn.org Making Robocalls To Members To, Get This, Get Their E-Mail Address

While monitoring Twitter this morning, this Tweet got my attention from California.

• Thanks for the robo-call Moveon.org. What the he'll do you want?

Why?  Well, MoveOn.org is a very large and powerful progressive organization that has over 3.2 million members nationwide.   I was interested in finding out what they were calling about and why?  This was the first time that I had heard about MoveOn using robocalls and, if they were using them for advocacy I wanted to know what issue they were moving their members for a particular issue or bill.

It turns out that MoveOn.org is using robocalls to ask members to, get this, update their email address!  Not to ask them to call their congressman or the White House.  Not to ask them to donate.  And not to ask them to vote for a particular candidate.

Simply:  To update your email address.

Here is the audio file.

Here is the transcript:

"...we don't need you to call your Senator.  We just need to know what email address we can reach you at.  The email address that we have for you stopped working.  So I wanted to ask you to take a quick second to update your address.  You can do it over the phone right now.  All you have to is press 1 and spell out your email address.  It just takes a second.  That way we will be able to keep you up to date on the great work MoveOn and the 3.2 million members are doing every day to win back the country from radical Republicans.  So please just press 1 and thank you for your time...."

Caller ID = 866.459.6050
Call back number = 800.828.0395

Some comments:

1. This is the first time I've heard of advocacy organizations using robo calls to get members to update email addresses that no longer are responding.  I wonder how effective this method is.  I know that MoveOn is a very metric driven organization, so it must work (or they are experimenting).
2. Robocalls are illegal in CA.  This particular robocall was made into California.   Unfortunately for MoveOn, robo calls in CA are illegal, unless introduced by a live person.   Here is a link to the law and more about this regulation in the State of CA.
3. The technology used is unlike anything I've seen before.  Essentially the listener is asked to spell out their email address into a voice "mail" recording.   I'd be interested in knowing about the accuracy of the systems they have transcribing the new email address and how they match the email to the correct name and phone number.
4. The Content:  The "call to action" is to win back the country from "radical republicans".  I don't know about you, but that goal seems to have been reached, pretty clearly :)

Anyone else get this?