Voters Using AI Chatbots to Navigate Midterm Elections

In a remarkable trend, some Americans are turning to chatbots developed by tech-savvy individuals in Silicon Valley to help guide their voting choices for the midterm elections. Take Adam Johnson, for example—a Republican from West Virginia who has strong reservations about the MAGA movement. He spent an evening in September utilizing ChatGPT to decipher his midterm ballot.

According to reports, Johnson, an aspiring illustrator, frequently employs ChatGPT for various tasks like meal planning and job searches. This time, however, his aim was more significant: figuring out how to cast his vote. Although he generally supports Republican candidates, he’s not in favor of the MAGA movement, often opting for Democrats or third-party options instead. That particular night, he sought to evaluate Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) against challenger Rachel Fetty Anderson in the Senate race.

Johnson isn’t alone in this. Research from Pew indicates that about half of adults in America use AI chatbots, with 42 percent of these users leveraging them for information gathering.

As Johnson began his research, he referenced a previous experience where the chatbot seemed hesitant to discuss politics. “Last time I mentioned politics, you didn’t really want to engage. You just replied, ‘I can’t help you with that.’ So, I’m unsure if we want to dive into what my principles are,” he expressed. The chatbot assured him: “We can certainly explore your guiding principles. While I shouldn’t influence your political opinions, I’m here to assist in evaluating candidates based on your criteria, comparing evidence, delving into political philosophy, and reasoning through priorities.”

When discussing immigration, Johnson remarked, “Immigrants and refugees are an intriguing topic because I lean left on that issue. Let’s look into it.” ChatGPT then detailed the candidates’ stances: “We briefly touched on border enforcement, illegal immigration, asylum, legal immigration, and refugee resettlement. Capito supports stronger border enforcement and related policies, while Fetty Anderson had less publicly available information, so I refrained from assigning her general Democratic positions without evidence.” Johnson had anticipated something more concise. “I was hoping for a brief overview,” he replied, to which the chatbot acknowledged: “Fair point—I turned your request into a full policy discussion.”

Johnson still needs to research local county commission races before finalizing his ballot. Reflecting on his experience, he noted that the chatbot seems inclined to affirm rather than challenge his views. “ChatGPT is quite the people pleaser. Whatever stance you have, it tends to echo back positively,” he commented.

Rafael Batista, a researcher from Johns Hopkins University focusing on AI’s influence, pointed out that this tendency can reinforce existing beliefs rather than expand them. “It could highlight information that solidifies what you already believe, leaving you more confident without necessarily increasing your understanding of the world,” he mentioned. He stressed the importance of being aware of these influences and suggested that users conceal their preferences in prompts and use incognito mode to reduce bias from previous conversations.

Other voters have shared similar habits with various workarounds. Lisa Veldran, 65, a former city council staffer from Madison, Wisconsin, used AI to compare gubernatorial primary candidates after another candidate dropped out. She emphasized the need for voters to consider the origins of the technology: “It’s vital to keep in mind who creates these tools.”

Wynton Hall, author of a bestselling book, illustrated AI’s political bias by reporting on how Google’s Gemini AI labeled several Republican senators, the Vice President, and Secretary of State as “hate speech violators.” Hall explained how he prompted the chatbot to assess existing senators against its hate speech policies, leading to a lengthy analysis that predominantly called out Republican figures.

As AI continues to grow in prominence, its role in shaping public opinion and voting decisions is likely to remain a hot topic of discussion.