State Democratic Party files formal complaint over Blakeman’s AI use

The state Democratic Party is asking the state Board of Elections to take action against Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman’s use of generative artificial intelligence in his campaign materials. In a new letter to BOE officials shared exclusively with City & State, state Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs alleged the Blakeman campaign is violating election law through his use of AI. 

Blakeman has frequently used AI to create campaign videos and social media content. According to state law, updated roughly two years ago through a provision in the state budget, “materially deceptive” media made with AI requires a disclosure. Blakeman has often not included the required disclosures. 

“It has been reported that a myriad of Blakeman generated ads rely on artificial intelligence to distort reality – specifically using Governor Hochul’s image but manipulating it to say and do things that she has not,” the letter reads. “According to the media, there is no consistency in whether the Blakeman campaign includes the mandated disclaimer for the computer created communications.”

Jacobs argues in the letter that in addition to Blakeman’s lack of disclosure, the Nassau County executive’s campaign may also be misusing public matching funds to pay for AI materials that run afoul of election law. Blakeman has received millions in matching funds that have helped to substantially bolster his campaign coffers after he sued to ensure he had access to the public dollars.

“The State Board of Elections cannot permit a campaign to repeatedly flout the Election Law, and it certainly cannot permit that campaign to pull down public matching funds in furtherance of this subversion,” Jacobs writes. “The Board and the (Public Campaign Finance Board) should take all steps to ensure that the disclaimer obligations are applied consistently and that state dollars are not being used by campaigns.”

City & State first reported on Blakeman’s use of AI in his campaign materials and its potential violation of state law in May, after he posted an AI-generated video in the style of the cartoon South Park criticizing both Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s energy policies. While the visuals are clearly stylized, animated depictions of the two Democrats, the video featured realistic-sounding voices of the pair saying things neither ever said, which could easily be mistaken for actual audio clips dubbed into the video. The video itself does not contain an AI disclaimer, and Blakeman’s campaign only added one through social media posts after City & State inquired about it.

At the time, Blakeman’s campaign defended the use of AI and claimed the law did not apply to the video because of a provision exempting satire. His campaign has continued to use AI frequently on social media and defend in subsequent reporting on the issue in outlets like Politico New York, Newsday and Gothamist.