Arizona · verified October 5, 2026

Arizona AI laws for political campaigns

Disclosure required2 AI call rules4 political AI laws

Within 90 days of an election, a knowingly deceptive AI deepfake of a candidate must carry a clear and conspicuous disclosure that it contains AI-generated content, and a candidate can get a court declaration within two days that an unlabeled digital impersonation is fake.

Political ad AI law
Disclosure
When it applies
Within 90 days before an election at which the candidate will appear on the ballot
Required AI disclaimer
Clear AI statement
Criminal penalty
No, civil only
Candidate can sue
Yes
AI voice calls
2 state rules + TCPA

Political ads and deepfakes

Does Arizona regulate AI in political ads?

Yes. Arizona has two 2024 laws. A.R.S. 16-1024 (SB 1359) bars a creator from creating and distributing a deepfake of a candidate that the creator knows is deceptive and fraudulent within 90 days before the election unless it carries a clear and conspicuous disclosure that it includes AI-generated content, with a civil penalty for each day it runs. A.R.S. 16-1023 (HB 2394) lets a candidate or any Arizona citizen sue over a digital impersonation published without consent and without reasonably conveying it is fake; for candidates the remedy is a declaratory judgment, with a ruling on preliminary relief within two court days. No AI election bills passed in 2025 or 2026. Key law (SB 1359 (2024), A.R.S. 16-1024).

SB 1359 (2024): Election communications; deepfakes; prohibition

In effect
Citation
A.R.S. 16-1024
Enacted
May 29, 2024
Effective
September 14, 2024
When it applies
within 90 days before an election at which the candidate will appear on the ballot
Media covered
synthetic media: an image, audio recording or video recording of an individual's appearance, speech or conduct created or intentionally manipulated with digital technology to create a realistic but false image, audio or video
Who it covers
a creator: any person that uses AI or other digital technology to generate the synthetic media (technology providers excluded)
Rule
ban unless disclosed
Intent required
Creator knows the media is a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake: synthetic media of a candidate that is false with knowledge of falsity, intended to injure the candidate's reputation, and intentionally calculated to mislead a reasonable person about what the candidate said or did.
Disclaimer format
The statute requires only a clear and conspicuous disclosure that conveys to a reasonable person that the media includes content generated by artificial intelligence. No fixed wording, font size or audio placement is prescribed.
Exemptions
  • satire or parody
  • interactive computer services as defined in 47 U.S.C. 230
Civil penalty
Civil penalty under A.R.S. 16-937(B) for each day the deepfake is distributed without the disclosure. (16-937(B) is the campaign finance late-filing schedule: $10 per day for the first 15 days and $25 per day after that.)
Court challenges
No court challenge found. In July 2026 an Arizona congressional candidate reportedly sued a super PAC over unlabeled AI-generated images on billboards and signs (reported by the Phoenix New Times via the Arizona Capitol Times); outcome unknown.
Notes
Laws 2024, ch. 199. Not an emergency measure, so it took effect on the 2024 general effective date, September 14, 2024. The statute does not name the enforcing officer. Penalty applies to a person who fails to make the disclosure.

Read the official text

HB 2394 (2024): Digital impersonation; injunctive relief; requirements

In effect
Citation
A.R.S. 16-1023
Enacted
May 21, 2024
Effective
May 21, 2024
When it applies
anytime; suit must be brought within two years after the plaintiff knew or should have known of publication
Media covered
recordings or images digitally manipulated to convincingly replace one person's likeness or voice with another's, or simulated, using deep generative methods and AI
Who it covers
publishers of a digital impersonation; for a paid advertisement, only the person or entity that originated, ordered, placed or paid for the ad
Rule
ban unless disclosed
Intent required
No intent element for declaratory relief. Plaintiff must prove the digital impersonation was published without consent and that the publisher did not reasonably convey it was a digital impersonation or that its authenticity was disputed, or that it would not be obvious to a reasonable person that it was an impersonation.
Disclaimer format
No fixed wording. Liability turns on whether the publisher reasonably conveyed to its audience that the recording or image was a digital impersonation or that its authenticity was disputed.
Exemptions
  • commentary, parody, satire, criticism or artistic expression
  • content created by the impersonated person or with consent
  • interactive computer service providers for content provided by others
Civil penalty
None for candidates. Injunctive relief and damages are available only when the impersonation is sexual, the plaintiff was not a public figure, and the publisher knew or failed to correct within 21 days.
Who can sue
A candidate for public or political party office who will appear on the Arizona ballot, or any Arizona citizen, may sue in superior court within two years. The sole remedy for a candidate is preliminary and permanent declaratory relief (a court declaration that the content is a digital impersonation). The court must rule on preliminary relief within two days, excluding weekends and holidays; a candidate qualifies for preliminary relief if the election is within 180 days.
Injunction available
No
Notes
Passed with an emergency clause, so it took effect on signing (Laws 2024, ch. 193). Publishers who learn content is an impersonation can limit damages exposure by taking reasonable corrective action within 21 days (remove it and tell the same audience it was an impersonation).

Read the official text

Bills to watch

  • SB 1786 (2026): Artificial intelligence; content verification (provenance data for AI-generated media). Died; no governor action, session ended
  • HB 2311 (2026): Artificial intelligence service; disclosures; requirements (chatbot must disclose it is AI). Vetoed June 19, 2026
  • HB 2246 (2026): Telephone solicitations; telephone calls. Died; no governor action

For campaigns and consultants

Before an AI ad runs in Arizona

  • In the last 90 days before an election, any realistic AI image, audio or video of a candidate that could mislead must carry a clear, conspicuous statement that it contains AI-generated content.
  • The law sets no exact words; use a plain on-screen and spoken statement that the ad contains AI-generated content, and make it unmissable.
  • Expect fast litigation: a targeted candidate (or any citizen) can get a court ruling on preliminary declaratory relief within two court days under A.R.S. 16-1023, at any time of year.
  • If you learn you published an impersonation, take it down and tell the same audience within 21 days.
  • AI voice clones used to defraud are a class 5 felony under A.R.S. 13-2006(A)(4); never put an AI copy of a real person's voice on a call without consent.

AI voice calls and texts

Can a campaign use AI voice calls in Arizona?

Arizona has no rule specific to AI voices in political calls. Its automated dialing law (A.R.S. 13-2919) and telephone solicitation law (A.R.S. 44-1278) target calls that sell goods or services, not political calls. Two rules still reach AI voice calls: an AI voice clone of a candidate in a call within 90 days of an election is synthetic audio under A.R.S. 16-1024 and needs the AI disclosure, and since 2025 using a computer-generated voice recording of another person with intent to defraud is a class 5 felony.

SB 1295 (2025): Criminal impersonation: fraudulent voice recordings

In effect
Citation
A.R.S. 13-2006(A)(4), (B)
Enacted
May 13, 2025
Effective
September 26, 2025
When it applies
anytime
Media covered
computer-generated voice recordings, images or videos of another person
Who it covers
any person
Rule
ban
Intent required
Intent to defraud: making a false representation or material omission to deceive another person to gain a benefit.
Exemptions
  • comedy, parody, artistic expression, criticism
  • circumstances where it is clear to a reasonable listener or viewer that the recording, image or video has been digitally manipulated
Criminal penalty
Class 5 felony
Notes
Laws 2025, ch. 184. Not an emergency measure; it took effect on the 2025 general effective date, September 26, 2025. Not election-specific, but it reaches an AI voice clone of a candidate used to deceive voters for a benefit. A disclosed AI voice that clearly identifies itself as AI falls within the exemption.

Read the official text

Existing law: Automated telephone solicitation

In effect
Citation
A.R.S. 13-2919
When it applies
anytime
Media covered
automated dialing systems that play a recorded message or send a text message
Who it covers
callers soliciting purchases of goods or services, or gathering survey information to be used for such solicitation
Rule
ban
Exemptions
  • recipient gave prior express invitation or permission
  • existing business relationship
Criminal penalty
Class 2 misdemeanor
Notes
By its text this covers commercial solicitation only, so political robocalls are outside it. Federal TCPA rules on artificial and prerecorded voices still apply.

Read the official text

Federal floor everywhere: AI-generated voices are “artificial” voices under the TCPA (FCC, February 2024), so they need prior express consent to cell phones and must identify the caller at the start of the call. AI robocall laws in every state

Federal layer

Federal rules that apply in Arizona

At the federal level, the binding rules that hit AI in campaigns today are the TCPA and FCC robocall rules, not any AI-specific election law. Since February 2024 the FCC treats AI-generated voices as "artificial" voices, so AI voice calls to cell phones need prior express consent (political calls included), AI or prerecorded political calls to landlines are limited to three per 30 days without consent, and every such message must identify the caller, give a callback number and offer an opt-out. The FEC says its existing fraudulent misrepresentation ban covers AI, but it has had no quorum since April 2025 and cannot enforce. Proposed FCC rules on AI disclosure in broadcast political ads and in AI calls were never adopted, and no federal AI political ad disclaimer bill has passed. Federal efforts to preempt state AI laws (a 2025 moratorium the Senate struck 99 to 1, and Executive Order 14365) have not displaced any state election or robocall law as of October 2026.

FCC, FEC and the federal preemption fight

How Arizona compares

25 other jurisdictions share Arizona's status (disclosure):

Alabama · Colorado · Delaware · Florida · Idaho · Indiana · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Michigan · Mississippi · Montana · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Mexico · New York · North Dakota · Oregon · Rhode Island · South Dakota · Tennessee · Utah · Vermont · Washington · Wisconsin

See Arizona on the mapPolitical deepfake laws, all statesDisclaimer generatorArizona 2026 electionsArizona underdog paths to victory

HyperPhonebank

Voter contact that clears Arizona's AI rules before the first dial.

Live professional callers and AI voice programs for voter ID, persuasion, ballot chase and GOTV, scripted to the disclosure and consent rules on this page, with every call graded and a real time dashboard.

Frequently asked questions

Does Arizona regulate AI in political ads?

Yes. Arizona has two 2024 laws. A.R.S. 16-1024 (SB 1359) bars a creator from creating and distributing a deepfake of a candidate that the creator knows is deceptive and fraudulent within 90 days before the election unless it carries a clear and conspicuous disclosure that it includes AI-generated content, with a civil penalty for each day it runs. A.R.S. 16-1023 (HB 2394) lets a candidate or any Arizona citizen sue over a digital impersonation published without consent and without reasonably conveying it is fake; for candidates the remedy is a declaratory judgment, with a ruling on preliminary relief within two court days. No AI election bills passed in 2025 or 2026. Key law (SB 1359 (2024), A.R.S. 16-1024).

What AI disclaimer does Arizona require on political ads?

Arizona does not prescribe exact wording. Arizona has two 2024 laws. A.R.S. 16-1024 (SB 1359) bars a creator from creating and distributing a deepfake of a candidate that the creator knows is deceptive and fraudulent within 90 days before the election unless it carries a clear and conspicuous disclosure that it includes AI-generated content, with a civil penalty for each day it runs. A.R.S. 16-1023 (HB 2394) lets a candidate or any Arizona citizen sue over a digital impersonation published without consent and without reasonably conveying it is fake; for candidates the remedy is a declaratory judgment, with a ruling on preliminary relief within two court days. No AI election bills passed in 2025 or 2026.

What is the penalty for a deceptive political deepfake in Arizona?

Civil: Civil penalty under A.R.S. 16-937(B) for each day the deepfake is distributed without the disclosure. (16-937(B) is the campaign finance late-filing schedule: $10 per day for the first 15 days and $25 per day after that.).

When does the Arizona political deepfake law apply?

within 90 days before an election at which the candidate will appear on the ballot. It covers synthetic media: an image, audio recording or video recording of an individual's appearance, speech or conduct created or intentionally manipulated with digital technology to create a realistic but false image, audio or video.

Can a campaign use an AI voice for robocalls in Arizona?

Arizona has no rule specific to AI voices in political calls. Its automated dialing law (A.R.S. 13-2919) and telephone solicitation law (A.R.S. 44-1278) target calls that sell goods or services, not political calls. Two rules still reach AI voice calls: an AI voice clone of a candidate in a call within 90 days of an election is synthetic audio under A.R.S. 16-1024 and needs the AI disclosure, and since 2025 using a computer-generated voice recording of another person with intent to defraud is a class 5 felony. Under federal law, the FCC ruled in February 2024 that AI-generated voices are "artificial" voices under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, so prerecorded or AI voice calls to cell phones need prior express consent, and every such call must identify the caller at the start.

How many political AI laws does Arizona have?

This tracker counts 4 Arizona AI laws touching politics and elections as of October 5, 2026: 2 on elections, 2 on AI or artificial voice calls.

Are there pending AI election bills in Arizona?

SB 1786 (2026) (Artificial intelligence; content verification (provenance data for AI-generated media)): Died; no governor action, session ended. HB 2311 (2026) (Artificial intelligence service; disclosures; requirements (chatbot must disclose it is AI)): Vetoed June 19, 2026. HB 2246 (2026) (Telephone solicitations; telephone calls): Died; no governor action.

Sources

Verified October 5, 2026 against official legislature and statute pages. This page summarizes Arizona law for campaigns and is not legal advice.