One of the oldest – and probably most annoying – campaign tactics for politicians and political issues has been to cold-call voters with automated messages giving reasons you should either vote for or against a certain individual or issue. This is what Drug Free Florida, the group behind the No on 2 campaign, had set out to do starting Sunday afternoon. However, due to an error when setting up the calls, they started in the middle of the night around 3AM on Sunday – and needless to say the thousands who received these calls were less than impressed.
When your phone rings in the middle of the night, most people fear the worst – especially if they have children away at school, elderly grandparents, etc. But no matter who you are, a phone call in the middle of the night usually doesn’t mean anything good. In this case, when people answered their phones, they were greeted by a female voice and an automated recording by the No on 2 campaign telling voters that the proposed amendment “authorizes kid-friendly pot candy that looks just like the junk food your children know and love.”
Now, we already know that the No on 2 campaign will stoop to any scare tactic they think may work to convince voters not to pass the medical marijuana amendment. However, when voters realized that was the reason they were woken in the middle of the night, they were rightfully infuriated. Hundreds of individuals took to social media to complain about the No on 2 campaign for both their middle of the night call, as well as the lies they are trying to spread about the amendment.
Those who really wanted to give Drug Free Florida a piece of their mind found that they were – and still are – unable to reach the group over the phone. Anyone who tried to call back that night before the group caught wind of their mistake found that the number listed provided a recorded message with the exact same warning about marijuana candies, this time in a male voice. Anyone who calls back now will get the message that “The problem has since been fixed and our recorded call program has since been terminated.”
The group also posted an apology to their Facebook and Twitter accounts, saying:
“Our sincerest apologies to those voters who inadvertently received a recorded call during the early morning hours on Sunday. It was not our intention to have those calls made at that hour. These calls were supposed to be made starting in the early PM and were mistakenly sent in the early AM. We are very sorry for the inconvenience.”
However, there are many who are so upset about the calls that they don’t feel this simple apology is enough. Whether or not anything will come of the matter beyond the anger of the voters who received phone calls is unclear. One couple expressed how many of us are probably feeling about the election right about now, saying, “Thankfully we’ve got 8 days to go until this is all over.” With less than a week left now until the election is over, Amendment 2 is still polling at about 70% in support – and with 60% needed to pass things are definitely looking up for the patients of Florida who would benefit from medical marijuana.
