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Hernando Today

Election Day Highest Texting Day Ever

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By TONY HOLT

Hernando Today

Published: November 10, 2008

ORLANDO - A record was broken on Election Day.

It wasn't voter turnout. It was the abundance of politically conscious cell phone users who texted their family, friends and neighbors after it was announced Barack Obama would be the 44th U.S. president.

Verizon and Sprint/Nextel had not released its numbers for the day, but AT&T reported a 44 percent spike in text messaging volumes during the hour after the 11 p.m. announcement.

"This year, there was so much more talk about the election," said AT&T spokeswoman Gretchen Schultz. "You saw the youth getting involved ... It was a competitive election. There were a lot of passionate people out there for both candidates."

In 2007, the highest spikes in texting came on holidays - St. Valentine's Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve.

This was the first time text messaging had noticeably spiked on a non-holiday, Schultz said.

The texting trend for some local users mirrored the national average.

Amy Brosnan, who garnered the most votes in the Spring Hill Fire Commissioner race, wore down her cell phone battery during the night.

"I was texting all day long, but it was the most chaotic at night," she said. "Once I found out I won, I must have gotten 50 responses at once ... It was insane. I don't know how I answered all those texts."

During the election season, AT&T and other cell phone companies pushed for more public political dialogue through text messaging and other mobile technology. AT&T teamed with Rock the Vote to increase voter registration and turnout among adults ages 18 to 29, according to a company media release.

A recent study, also released by AT&T, revealed that U.S. customers use their cell phones more for texting than talking.

After Brosnan's frenzied day, it made her realize how reliant she is on text messaging.

Does her cell phone plan include unlimited texts?

"Yes, thank God!" she said.

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

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