21 September 2026
Bipartisan legislation to make AI involvement in political content clear to voters moves forward
The Senate Rules Committee advanced the AI Transparency in Elections Act by a 9-2 vote on May 15, 2024. This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in March 2024, would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act to require political ads that use AI-generated or substantially altered content to include a disclaimer.
The specific disclosure language has yet to be determined, but Klobuchar and Murkowski's press office emphasized that the law focuses on meaningful disclosures for "substantially generated" content. The bill defines that term to mean audio, video, or images that were "created or materially altered by artificial intelligence." Substantial alterations occur when an AI system generates content from scratch, or significantly transforms an existing asset into something fundamentally different.
Key exemption
The law includes one important exception: ads will not need to disclose AI involvement if the alterations are considered "immaterial"—like basic color correction, cropping, resizing, and other minor edits. These modifications would be excluded from the AI labeling provisions as long as the changes don't create a misleading or fundamentally different message.
The AI Transparency in Elections Act is one of three bipartisan measures addressing AI issues in political ads to advance from the Rules Committee in 2024. The others are the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act and the Preparing Election Administrators for AI Act.
Klobuchar, a long-time transparency advocate, says these bills reflect growing concerns about generative AI's role in political disinformation and the need for accountability in electoral messaging. "AI tools pose a clear threat to the integrity of democratic elections," she warned in a statement accompanying the March introduction of her bill.
Of particular concern for the Minnesota Democrat are AI-powered deepfakes, manipulated images, and convincing impersonations. Combating deepfakes and protecting elections was a priority in a five-bill package Klobuchar introduced in January 2023.
On May 28, 2024, Klobuchar reiterated her determination to address vulnerabilities in political advertising: "We cannot allow bad actors to abuse this technology to spread lies, defame opponents, and mislead voters. It's already happened: In 2019, a Pelosi video was manipulated to make her appear impaired. That same year, a deepfake of Nancy Pelosi posted to Facebook garnered over 690,000 views in two days."
As lawmakers work to address the threats of deepfake technology and protect political advertising authenticity, their efforts highlight how AI presents new challenges to electoral integrity. The AI Transparency in Elections Act aims to empower voters with information about the tools used to shape opinions. But with the rapid evolution of generative AI, there remain more questions than answers about this ongoing legislative effort.