Constituents calling the Capitol got busy signals Thursday as phone lines jammed with callers voicing their opinions on the financial rescue package.

The Capitol switchboard and many member offices have been so inundated with calls that the multiple phone lines have reached their capacity.

“We expect calls to some members’ offices to continue to increase as the House again takes up the vote,” said Jeff Ventura, spokesman for the Chief Administrative Office (CAO). “Constituents who encounter random busy signals are encouraged to try back during off-peak hours.”

The CAO began limiting e-mails on Tuesday after House websites were overwhelmed by constituents writing lawmakers through the “Write Your Representative” function. Unprecedented volume was clogging the system, the CAO said.

Constituents sending e-mails received an e-mailed response encouraging them to try again at a later time.

The clogged e-mails might be leading frustrated constituents to call their elected representatives, Ventura suggested. He said the House e-mail is still not back to regular working order and could be responsible for the increase in phone calls.

The constant busy signals people get when they try to reach the Capitol switchboard most often occur because the caller is being transferred to a lawmakers’ office, which is also busy, said Kimball Winn, chief information officer and assistant Senate sergeant at arms.

“Yes, people have been getting busy signals, mainly when the switchboard tries to transfer somebody to an office and all the lines in that office are busy,” Winn said. “When the people in the office put somebody on hold, that ties up that line. I think the goal for them would be to clear the line so that they could take more calls.”

House Minority Leader John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) office said it was experiencing high levels of phone calls Thursday, but not as high as before Monday’s vote, when the bailout package failed to pass the House.

A number of advocacy campaigns have begun online campaigns to urge people to call their representatives, often including the local and toll-free Capitol switchboard phone numbers.

Members have requested that voters call their congressional leaders as well. In an open letter last week, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) urged Americans to call their representatives to tell them to vote against the package.

Winn asked people to be patient and advised them to try calling their lawmaker directly for a speedier connection.

“Be persistent,” he said. “It’s usually more efficient for them to get the direct dial number of the office they want to call and call directly instead of through the switchboard, but we’re happy to help them if they call through the switchboard.”