March 18, 2024 - Washington, D.C. – Last week, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the bipartisan Preparing Election Administrators for AI Act to require the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), in consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to develop voluntary guidelines for election offices. These guidelines will address the use and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in election administration, cybersecurity, information sharing about elections, and the spread of election-related disinformation.

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)

“In an era when artificial intelligence technology is rapidly advancing, election administrators would benefit from comprehensive guidance in order to effectively counter potential threats to our election processes,” said Senator Collins. “By requiring the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission to develop voluntary guidelines for state and local election officials nationwide on the use and risks of AI, this bipartisan legislation will help our elections officials to better prepare for and more quickly address such risks.”

“We know that AI is being used to spread disinformation about voting. To safeguard our free and fair elections and support hardworking election officials, comprehensive guidelines are needed to address AI’s impact on election administration,” said Senator Klobuchar. “This bipartisan legislation will prepare state and local officials to address the risks that AI poses to our elections.”

Senators Collins and Klobuchar have led efforts to address the threat of misleading AI-generated content and to increase transparency in our elections.

In February 2024, the EAC voted unanimously to assist state and local election officials in combating the spread of AI-generated disinformation about our elections by allowing election officials to use federal election funds to counter disinformation in our elections caused by artificial intelligence. This decision came after Senators Collins and Klobuchar’s letter calling on the EAC to take action to address AI-generated disinformation in elections following the fake AI-generated robocalls using the president’s voice to tell people not to vote in New Hampshire. 

In September 2023, Senators Collins and Klobuchar, along with Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act, bipartisan legislation to ban the use of AI to generate materially deceptive content falsely depicting federal candidates to influence federal elections.
Source: Senator Susan Collins