{"id":3381,"date":"2026-10-26T10:07:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T14:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/?p=3381"},"modified":"2026-10-26T10:07:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T14:07:36","slug":"election-2026-hits-the-homestretch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/election-2026-hits-the-homestretch\/","title":{"rendered":"Election 2026 Hits the Homestretch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This past weekend New Yorkers began to go to the polls to vote in the 2026 election. On the ballot there are elections for Congress, statewide offices, the state legislature, and many local offices. That last one is new \u2013 a new law<\/a> moved many races for local office to even-numbered years in an effort to boost voter participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not the only thing that\u2019s new. Technologies \u2013 powered by Artificial Intelligence \u2013 will likely have an even greater impact than in previous elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chatbots have the potential to make it much easier for voters to get the information that they need to choose who to vote for. Yet those same technologies have the potential to cause havoc in these elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a week or so until the General Election, the intensity of the battle between Democrats and Republicans is reaching a fever pitch. It is this time \u2013 the last few weeks before the General Election \u2013 that some candidates resort to political \u201cdirty tricks\u201d to suppress turnout for their opponents while juicing up supporters to show up at the polls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI-powered technologies are now so advanced that it is extremely difficult for the public to figure out real electioneering from fake. Under New York law<\/a>, altered, fake messages are supposed to come with a warning that they are not what they appear to be. Unfortunately, sometimes those warnings are missed by the casual viewer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an effort to combat voter confusion, the state\u2019s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has released its recommendations<\/a> on how to consume political communications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start with the basics. AI is not all knowing (at least not yet). Sometimes chatbots offer incorrect information. Just like the public should be cautious<\/a> when using chatbots \u2013 most notably ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot \u2013 for research and problem solving since errors<\/a> can occur, they should be careful when using these tools for gathering information<\/a> in order to vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concern goes beyond imperfect research. Malicious actors can use these powerful tools to try to actively influence<\/a> the election. The public can\u2019t rely on self-regulation by the tech companies \u2013 there is little evidence<\/a> that major companies are doing enough to combat such dirty tricks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, it\u2019s up to the voters to be conscious of the danger and adopt practical measures to minimize the possibility of being bamboozled by bad actors in political campaigns. Here are a few:<\/p>\n\n\n\n