AI political ad laws in all 50 states, on one map.

30 states as of October 5, 2026: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

19 states: Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming, plus the District of Columbia. In these states no statute targets AI or deepfakes in campaign ads, but defamation, fraud, false-statement election laws and federal rules still apply.

It depends on the state. 21 jurisdictions prescribe exact wording, such as Colorado's "This (image/audio/video/multimedia) has been edited and depicts speech or conduct that falsely appears to be authentic or truthful." Others only require a clear statement that the media was manipulated or generated by AI. The disclaimer generator on this page returns the exact text for every state you select.

Using AI to write copy, edit footage or generate background images is legal everywhere. What states regulate is synthetic media that falsely shows a real candidate saying or doing something they did not, usually within a set window before an election. Most states allow it with a disclaimer; a few ban it outright.

Yes, with conditions. The FCC ruled in February 2024 that AI-generated voices are artificial voices under the TCPA, so AI voice calls to cell phones need prior express consent, landline calls must follow prerecorded-message rules, and every call must identify the caller at the start. Several states add their own robocall or disclosure rules; the AI voice calls lens on the map shows which.

Not a statute specific to political ads as of October 5, 2026. 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.

17 states attach criminal penalties: Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. Other states with a law rely on civil penalties, injunctions or lawsuits by the depicted candidate.

In 25 states the statute lets the depicted candidate sue for an injunction and in many cases damages: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont and Washington. Everywhere, defamation and false light claims remain available.

Every state was verified against official legislature and statute pages as of October 5, 2026. Pages show the date each state was last verified. Laws are re-checked during and after each legislative session and whenever a court rules.