No election AI lawFederal TCPA on AI calls1 political AI law
Arkansas has no AI or deepfake election law (both 2025 bills failed), and a federal court struck down its ban on automated political robocalls in 2016.
Political ad AI law
No law
When it applies
No state rule
Required AI disclaimer
None required
Criminal penalty
No state rule
Candidate can sue
General law only
AI voice calls
Federal TCPA only
Political ads and deepfakes
Does Arkansas regulate AI in political ads?
No. As of October 5, 2026, Arkansas has no state law that specifically regulates artificial intelligence or deepfakes in political ads or election communications. Arkansas has not enacted any law regulating AI or synthetic media in political ads. Two 2025 election deepfake bills, HB 1041 and HB 1141, failed when the regular session ended. The 2026 session was a fiscal session, and no AI election measure was found.
No AI disclaimer is required by Arkansas statute. Ads still need Arkansas's standard paid-for-by disclosures, and a deepfake that defames a candidate or misleads voters about how to vote can still create liability under general law and federal rules. If your ad also runs in a neighboring state's media market, that state's AI law can apply.
Bills to watch
HB 1041 (2025): Election deepfake bill (prefiled November 2024). Failed, 2025 regular session
No state AI disclaimer is required on Arkansas political ads, but federal rules (FCC, TCPA) and platform ad policies still apply.
Unlabeled fake audio or video of a real candidate still carries defamation and false light risk under general law.
Arkansas's 2025 publicity rights amendment (HB 1071, Act 159) added protection against unauthorized commercial use of a person's AI-simulated voice or likeness; get consent before cloning any real person's voice.
Watch the 2027 regular session; deepfake disclosure bills are likely to return.
AI voice calls and texts
Can a campaign use AI voice calls in Arkansas?
Arkansas has no AI-specific calling rule. Its automated telephone statute (Ark. Code 5-63-204) bans using an automated dialing system that plays recorded messages for sales calls and also for any purpose in connection with a political campaign, a Class B misdemeanor. However, in Gresham v. Rutledge (E.D. Ark., July 27, 2016), Judge J. Leon Holmes held the political campaign part unconstitutional under the First Amendment and entered a decree barring the Attorney General from enforcing it, so recorded political robocalls are not restricted by that statute. Federal TCPA rules on artificial voices still apply.
Existing law: Automated telephone solicitation (including calls in connection with a political campaign)
Blocked in court
Citation
Ark. Code 5-63-204
When it applies
anytime
Media covered
calls using an automated system to select and dial numbers and play recorded messages
Who it covers
anyone using such systems to sell goods or services, or for soliciting information, gathering data, or any other purpose in connection with a political campaign
Rule
ban
Exemptions
calls made solely in response to a call initiated by the person called
order delivery and status notices to purchasers
Criminal penalty
Class B misdemeanor
Who can sue
The Attorney General, prosecutors, law enforcement or telephone companies may seek injunctions; prevailing party recovers fees and costs.
Injunction available
Yes
Court challenges
Gresham v. Rutledge, No. 4:16-cv-00241, 198 F. Supp. 3d 965 (E.D. Ark. July 27, 2016): Judge J. Leon Holmes held the political campaign clause of 5-63-204(a)(1) is a content-based restriction that fails strict scrutiny and entered a decree enjoining the Attorney General from enforcing it as to calls made in connection with a political campaign. The case closed the same day; no appeal was found.
Notes
Status reflects the political-call clause, which is enjoined; the commercial (sales) part of the statute was not struck down. Whether an AI voice agent that converses live counts as playing recorded messages is untested.
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 Arkansas
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.
Voter contact that clears Arkansas'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.
No. As of October 5, 2026, Arkansas has no state law that specifically regulates artificial intelligence or deepfakes in political ads or election communications. Arkansas has not enacted any law regulating AI or synthetic media in political ads. Two 2025 election deepfake bills, HB 1041 and HB 1141, failed when the regular session ended. The 2026 session was a fiscal session, and no AI election measure was found.
Can a campaign use an AI voice for robocalls in Arkansas?
Arkansas has no AI-specific calling rule. Its automated telephone statute (Ark. Code 5-63-204) bans using an automated dialing system that plays recorded messages for sales calls and also for any purpose in connection with a political campaign, a Class B misdemeanor. However, in Gresham v. Rutledge (E.D. Ark., July 27, 2016), Judge J. Leon Holmes held the political campaign part unconstitutional under the First Amendment and entered a decree barring the Attorney General from enforcing it, so recorded political robocalls are not restricted by that statute. Federal TCPA rules on artificial voices still apply. 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 Arkansas have?
This tracker counts 1 Arkansas AI law touching politics and elections as of October 5, 2026: 1 on AI or artificial voice calls.