WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Nearly two out of three U.S. voters received the much-despised prerecorded "robo-calls" from political candidates during the past election, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project found that the automated messages trailed only direct mail among "get out the vote" techniques used by political candidates in the November elections.

"Direct mail can go from the mailbox to the wastebasket, but with a robo-call at least you've picked up the phone," said Pew Director Lee Rainie. "The chance of capturing even a sliver of people's attention is somewhat greater, I would guess."

Phone calls from actual human beings were less common, the survey found. Sixty-four percent of registered voters surveyed said they had received a robo-call before the last election, while 24 percent said they had received a political call from a live person.