Political fundraising via text faces hurdles

The creators of a newly approved political donation-by-text message platform find themselves at a boom-or-bust juncture. In their perfect world, the Republican and Democratic national conventions will be political telethons of sorts. Party leaders might urge viewers to grab their iPhones or Androids and instantaneously text $10 to “OBAMA” or “ROMNEY” — a potential windfall for all. But at the moment, the companies who want to run the donations by text message system — Red Blue T, ArmourMedia and m-Qube — are in drawn-out talks with major mobile phone carriers such as AT&T, Sprint and Verizon to figure out how it will all work and how much of a cut everyone will take.

One wireless company executive familiar with the talks said that “there are a huge number of hurdles” to overcome, including cost, contractual obligations and federal reporting requirements. “I don’t see this happening this election cycle, and I’d be floored if it does,” the executive said, regardless of the Federal Election Commission’s unanimous blessing this month for the system to move forward.