Weeks before Election Day, the nation’s campaign finance regulator can’t enforce the law

October 7, 2026 / 6:00 AM EDT / CBS News

In July, Reps. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, and Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, had a request for the Federal Election Commission: help make sure artificial intelligence chatbots do not feed voters false information about the 2026 midterm elections.

The lawmakers, writing to the FEC as well as the Justice and Homeland Security departments, urged the agencies to coordinate on "AI-driven threats to election integrity" and to press AI companies on their safeguards. Their concerns come as a quarter of likely voters use AI tools daily and at least 38% have gotten information about candidates or voting from AI search summaries, according to a September survey released by the American Association of Political Consultants Foundation.

But later that month, FEC Commissioner Shana Broussard, a Democrat, wrote back with a blunt answer: the agency couldn't help. With only two of its six commissioner seats filled, the FEC "cannot proceed," she wrote, according to documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

Broussard signed the letter as an individual commissioner. Without a quorum — the four members needed out of a total of six — she could not under federal…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/