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PHOENIX — Dinner might not be the best time to talk politics, but as many voters learned last fall, no moment is immune to an interruption from a political phone call.

Now a group of state lawmakers is looking to cut the cord on political solicitations bothering people who just want to be left alone during election season.

A bill sponsored by state Reps. Steve Farley, Tom Prezelski and Lena Saradnik, all Tucson Democrats, would create a voluntary "do not call" list for political campaigns. Tucson Republicans Pete Hershberger and Jennifer Burns also support the measure.

The move is a backlash against the high volume of calls — particularly automated "robo-calls" — that voters, particularly those in the competitive 8th Congressional District, received before the last election. If it passes and is signed by the governor, the bill will require the Arizona Secretary of State's Office to maintain a list of people who don't want to receive phone calls from candidates and other political campaigns and to distribute the "do not call" list to political organizations.

Because use of the list would be voluntary, campaigns still could call voters on the registry if they choose, though they might face the consequences of annoying those people even more, Farley and others say.

"I think it ends up being a nice tool," he said. "You don't want to anger people."

William Rademacher, a retiree who lives on Tucson's East Side, said he would be among the first voters to sign up for the list if the bill becomes law.

"We don't want to fool around with this kind of thing," he said. "We know what we need to do. We've been voting since we were 21 years old."

Rademacher said that even though the list would be voluntary, he would do anything to cut down on the calls, which were excessive last fall.

"If it helps put a stop to it, we'll sign up," he said.

Campaign strategists and activists are more skeptical, since calls, either live or automated, are a major tool in reaching voters, particularly independents.

And whether candidates and independent-expenditure campaigns would abide by the opt-out list is uncertain.

Democratic pollster Carol Zimmerman said that while she's pleased because the list would be voluntary, the registry could hurt smaller campaigns that choose to refrain from calling the people who signed up.

"Candidates need all the tools they can get to maximize contact with voters," she said.

A "do not call" registry could test the grass-roots organization of a campaign, said Andrew Myers, a Democratic organizer for several Tucson City Council races. "You might see more door-to-door activity," he said.

And Pima County Republican Chairwoman Judi White said calling voters is a big factor affecting election turnout.

"Sometimes we really do touch voters," she said. "You want people to know that there's a campaign."

Still, Farley said voters not only knew there was an election coming up in November — they couldn't escape it.

"I was hearing people say they were getting eight calls a night," he said. "It's time to respect the voters' wishes. This is a common-sense approach."

The high volume of calls last fall was a product of Arizona having several competitive campaigns, from congressional and legislative races to the 20 initiatives on the ballot.

Arizona already participates in the national "do not call" registry established by the Federal Trade Commission in 2003. The list regulates telemarketers, but it exempts charities and political campaigns.

"I thought it looked very selfish for legislators to be passing a bill that limits the kinds of calls other people make but not themselves," said former state Sen. Toni Hellon, a longtime campaign manager who remembers when the Legislature approved joining that list.

Hellon said that while the latest effort may change campaign strategies, the "proliferation" of candidate calls irritated voters. Now it's payback time.

Meanwhile, Farley is confident that his bill will reach the committee stage.

And although he said the measure has bipartisan support, the issue ultimately will be decided by the very people it would affect: politicians.