The count has moved past what most campaigns are tracking.
As of May 2026, roughly 28 to 30 states have enacted some form of law governing AI-generated content in political advertising. A year ago, most campaign shops treated Utah as the outlier. That framing is now wrong. Utah was the template, and most of the country has followed it.
The Trump White House released a federal AI framework in March 2026 recommending that Congress preempt state laws with a national standard. That recommendation is not law. No federal preemption has passed. Until Congress moves, state laws govern — and they are not uniform.
What the laws actually require
The statutory language varies by state, but the practical requirement is consistent: if you used generative AI to create or substantially alter images, video, or audio in a political ad, you must disclose it in the ad.
The dominant language, drawn from California's AB 2355 (effective January 1, 2025) and echoed across roughly a dozen states: "Ad generated or substantially altered using artificial intelligence." Utah's SB 131 (effective May 2024) and Florida's HB 919 (effective July 1, 2024) require functionally equivalent language.
Format requirements carry teeth. Florida mandates a minimum 12-point font in print, a visible overlay occupying at least 4 percent of screen space in video, and a spoken 3-second disclosure in audio-only spots. Michigan (HB 5141, effective February 2024) requires the disclosure to hold on screen for at least 4 seconds and be spoken for at least 3 seconds in audio. Failure to comply in Florida is a first-degree misdemeanor — up to a year in jail and a
This is not a paperwork problem. It is a criminal liability problem in at least one state and a civil liability problem in several others.
The map as of May 2026
States with active AI disclosure laws include California, Florida, Michigan, Utah, Nevada (effective January 1, 2026), Kentucky (signed March 2025), Colorado (effective July 2024), Wisconsin, New York, Oregon, New Mexico, Arizona, Alabama, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington, Hawaii, and New Hampshire, among others. Some states — including Minnesota and New Jersey — have gone further than disclosure requirements and criminalized AI deepfakes of political candidates outright.
Not every law covers the same ad types. Some apply only within a pre-election window, typically 60 or 90 days out. Others run year-round. Some require disclosure only when AI generated the entire ad. Others trigger when AI substantially altered existing content.
That last clause is the one most campaign shops are underestimating.
"Substantially altered" is where campaigns get caught
California, Nevada, and several other states require disclosure not just for fully AI-generated content but for real content that AI substantially altered. That includes background replacement, color grading with AI tools, voice cleanup using AI noise reduction, AI-sharpened video resolution, and AI-generated sky replacement in a candidate photo.
If your production workflow touches Adobe Firefly, Runway, ElevenLabs, or similar tools at any stage, check what your state's law says about substantial alteration before the buy runs. The standard disclosure language covers both creation and alteration. If your creative vendor cannot tell you which tools they used, that is a problem to solve before the spot airs — not after.
Where the federal picture stands
There is no FEC mandate. In September 2024, the FEC voted against opening a formal rulemaking on AI political ads. Republican commissioners blocked it. The FEC position: existing fraud statutes cover deceptive AI use on a technology-neutral basis. That is the operative federal standard.
The FCC proposed a disclosure rule in July 2024 (NPRM FCC 24-74) covering broadcast TV and radio. It has not been finalized. Under the current administration, finalization before November 2026 is unlikely. Even if finalized, the FCC rule would not cover digital buys, social media, streaming, or podcasts. State laws do.
The White House framework from March 2026 calls for a "minimally burdensome national standard" that would preempt the state patchwork. The case for preemption is straightforward from a limited-government lens: a 50-state compliance burden raises costs and raises barriers to entry for smaller campaigns and vendors. One national floor beats 50 conflicting state regimes. But the preemption bill has not been drafted. Until Congress acts, state law governs.
A bipartisan Senate bill, S.1213 (Klobuchar-Hawley, introduced March 2025), would prohibit deceptive AI-generated political media at the federal level. It is a prohibition bill, not a disclosure mandate. GovTrack puts its chance of enactment at 9 percent.
What's coming before November
[Analysis] Oklahoma's HB 3546 advanced through the Senate in April 2026 and is positioned for passage. Pennsylvania has pre-filed legislation following a March 2026 announcement from Senator Lindsey Williams. Additional states are running active bills through the second chamber. A compliance program built against a Q1 2026 map needs a Q3 recheck before your fall buys run.
So What
Three actions before the next buy goes out:
1. Map your states. Pull your media market footprint. For every state where you are buying TV, radio, digital, or social, verify current law status. "I'm not sure if our state has a law" is not a compliance posture. The answer is knowable in 20 minutes. The AuditSocials state tracker (auditsocials.com) is the fastest current map.
2. Audit your production workflow. Build AI-disclosure review into the creative approval checklist as a standing line item. Every piece of creative that uses generative AI or AI-assisted alteration gets a disclosure tag before it ships. Don't treat this as a post-hoc legal review. Catch it at production sign-off, not after the buy runs.
3. Ignore federal preemption until it's law. The White House framework is a recommendation. The FEC closed its rulemaking. The FCC NPRM sits unfinalized. S.1213 has a 9 percent chance of enactment. The law governing your ads today is state law. Build your compliance program for the world that exists, not the one the framework recommends.
Christopher Paul Gergen
Founder, Dark Horse Political