Some voters saw a new weapon in the politician's campaign arsenal this November: short messaging service campaign ads appeared on their wireless devices.

What they didn't see was a potential legal conflict that could leave suppliers of political SMS ads hanging like a chad.

Each state has a law regarding how close to polling places votes can be solicited on Election Day--usually about 100 feet. However, as part of an SMS campaign, voters might get political ads on their cell phones, two-way pagers, and BlackBerry devices while choosing candidates in the voting booth.

"It's a danger," says Michael Cornfield, research director of the George Washington University Institute for Politics, Democracy, and the Internet. "It should not happen, and the law and election administrators should take steps to make sure it doesn't happen."

This August, the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) exempted SMS communications from campaign disclosure regulations, allowing political ads to be sent without a disclaimer revealing who paid for them. (About 18 billion SMS messages are sent per month worldwide.)

This frees the entire 160-character SMS message for ad space, making SMS ads a more viable form of political advertising. So, does the ruling contain provisions to prevent SMS ads from coming through while voters are at polling places?

"The short answer is no," says FEC spokesperson Bob Biersack. "I don't even know how you could do that."

NewMedia Communication, a marketing firm, introduced SMS political ads in Senate races in Michigan and Pennsylvania during the 2000 election season. NewMedia was involved in eight statewide senatorial and gubernatorial races this November, and expanded the role of SMS ads in their campaigning. CEO Mike Connell says SMS ads have gained widespread acceptance globally--NewMedia recently finished political campaigns in Bulgaria and Slovakia--and believes it is just a matter of time until they catch on in the United States.

"The best use of SMS is on Election Day," says Mr. Connell. But he thinks a legal conflict over political SMS ads in polling places is improbable, likening the messages to slate cards or buttons. "The potential for abuse is too small."

If he's wrong, political SMS ads may be knocked out before they even became a contender.