AI-made political videos reach Kern County, PAC texts ad for Measure A

Key Takeaways

1. A Kern County PAC texted voters an AI-generated ad supporting Measure A.
2. Viral AI videos backing Spencer Pratt’s L.A. mayor bid weren’t official campaign ads.
3. A political science professor says AI has made campaign content cheaper with fewer guardrails.
4. Parts of a recent California law regulating AI election content were temporarily blocked in court.

"It’s time for Kern County to have more local control." That line hit phones recently in a text from a local political action committee, paired with an AI-generated ad for Measure A. The message is one example of campaign-style content built by software, then pushed directly to voters here.

What Kern County voters saw

The Kern County text used an AI-created spot to promote Measure A, according to KBAK/KBFX reporting. In the same package, the station demonstrated how quickly a get-out-the-vote clip could be produced using public tools, from script to video in a few minutes. A police scanner chirped once while the demo rendered. It took minutes.

The report also pointed to viral clips supporting Republican Spencer Pratt’s bid for Los Angeles mayor. Those videos, not official campaign ads, cast Mayor Karen Bass as a fantasy villain and depict the city in AI-made chaos, including the line, "If you liked the last 4 years, you're going to love the next 4." The pieces fueled a separate fight over how voters separate stunts from sanctioned messaging.

Some candidates are going further. State Board of Equalization candidate Yvonne Yiu has used AI in materials she directly endorsed, the station reported. Cheap and fast.

What experts say could change

Political science professor Nate Monroe said the cost and barriers have both dropped, which widens the field for highly produced outreach. "The ability to produce the same content that you would have wanted to produce in a campaign 2 years ago, or especially 4 years ago, has both gotten cheaper and has fewer boundaries," Monroe said. He added that every cycle keeps changing, and the endpoint is hard to see. A warning, basically.

Monroe’s advice to voters was plain: treat online political content with caution. "As much as possible, you are responsible for information you allow to affect your decisions. AI doesn't change that," he said. "If you think you're going to use it as part of your decision, double check it quickly."

What the law says

Lawmakers are trying to catch up. The National Conference of State Legislatures tracks states that have passed limits on certain AI-generated political content, including deepfakes. In California, parts of a recent statute that touched AI election materials were temporarily blocked by a federal judge during a constitutional challenge, creating a moving target ahead of the next round of local outreach in Kern County and beyond.

"Double check it quickly."