Gov. Tony Evers signed legislation Thursday requiring political campaigns to disclose when they use artificial intelligence in their advertisements, meaning Wisconsin has taken a step toward cracking down on “deepfakes” ahead of the 2024 presidential election in November.
At the same time, the governor vetoed other voting-related bills, including a measure allowing election observers to stand within arm's reach of poll workers, something local election officials had worried about.
Experts have warned that the ability to use rapidly developing AI tools to generate fake audio or video clips could have a dramatic influence on political campaigns, with groups promoting falsified content just days before an election, with little time for fact checking.
State and federal election officials nationally have begun reviewing what they might be able to do to roll back the possible impact of AI.
The Wisconsin law, authored by Reps. Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee, Clinton Anderson, D-Beloit, and Sens. Romaine Quinn, R-Cameron, and Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, requires a disclaimer for any ad — including those distributed by a campaign, political action committee or party — that uses audio or video that is “substantially produced” with generative AI.
Intentionally violating the disclaimer requirements would carry a $1,000 fine for each offense.
In a statement, Anderson said the bill “is a significant step towards preserving the integrity of our electoral process.”
“By enacting this legislation, we establish transparency in political messaging by mandating disclosures on AI-generated content within advertisements,” he said. “This law empowers voters to discern authenticity, fostering informed decisions at the polls while upholding impartiality towards content.”
But Dietram Scheufele, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor whose work includes looking at AI and political communication, noted that the state-level regulation is just a first step.
The head of the Federal Elections Commission, for example, has said he expects his agency to weigh in on the issue later this year.
“They're stopgap measures,” Sheufele said of the state-level regulation in an interview earlier this year. "And ultimately they’ll just … show the urgency of a federal set of rules.”
Evers vetoes half a dozen bills
Evers also vetoed six bills Thursday, four of which had to do with voting.
That includes a bill that would have allowed election observers to stand less than 3 feet from voters. The proposal also would require observers be granted uniform access to watch any part of the election process, including recounts.
Republicans argued the measure was a way of better positioning observers to be able to watch how poll workers were administering the election. But clerks and, ultimately, Evers worried whether it could lead to intimidation.
“I cannot support legislation that could enable voter intimidation and prevent election workers from effectively and efficiently carrying out their important duties without interference,” Evers wrote in his veto message.
Evers also vetoed legislation that would have allowed nursing home staff to be trained and sworn in to administer elections in their facilities in the event of an infectious disease.
The measure also bans clerks from making any corrections to an absentee ballot and would have clarified what parts of an address a person must provide if they are serving as a state-mandated witness to a voter filling out their absentee mail ballot.
This witness address issue is currently the subject of litigation, which may well reach the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Evers also vetoed the following bills:
Legislation requiring that the state Senate sign off on any gubernatorial appointments to fill vacancies in the secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general and superintendent of public instruction positions.
Legislation outlining what local elections officials must do when someone is deemed to be incompetent to vote. Evers expressed concerns about a separate provision that would have required that family be notified when election officials specifically charged with handling absentee voting in nursing homes will be visiting a certain facility.
Legislation requiring the Legislative Audit Bureau to conduct a performance audit of election processes after a general election.
A bill requiring schools to schedule a visit for groups like the Boys & Girls Club in order for those organizations to encourage students to become a member.
