Common Cause/NY Applauds NY Lawmakers for Protecting Voters in This Year's Budget

NEW YORK, NY (04/23/2024) (readMedia)-- On Saturday, New York lawmakers voted on the New York State budget, which included protections for voters against AI "deepfakes" and election funding for localities. In response, Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause New York issued the following statement:

"This year's budget is a victory for voters. The rise of AI-generated political content threatens to sow confusion and distrust-in our institutions, our candidates, and each other. Deepfakes have already misled voters and media here in New York, but they will only become more frequent and difficult to debunk as we enter a contentious political cycle. We are thrilled lawmakers have taken steps to regulate AI as well as secure funding for our local elections. We thank Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Speaker Carl Heastie, Senator Kristen Gonzalez, and Assembly Members Alex Bores and Steven Otis for prioritizing election security and funding elections in what is sure to be a busy election cycle."