United States of AI Ethical Policy - Ballots and Algorithms: Safeguarding Democracy in the Age of AI

A Civic Brief from Future in Common

Part of the series: “The United States of AI: An Ethical Policy Platform for American Workers”

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What This Brief Covers:

From deepfakes to algorithmic bias, artificial intelligence is already reshaping how we vote, how we’re informed, and how power is won. As we head into the most AI-saturated elections in U.S. history, democracy itself is on the line.

This urgent civic brief breaks down how AI affects elections, information integrity, and public trust—and what we can do to protect democratic rights in a time of rapid disruption.

What You’ll Learn:

• How AI is being used in voter targeting, campaign messaging, and disinformation

• Why existing laws and norms fall short in protecting elections

• What a resilient, tech-aware democracy can look like

• Policy and civic recommendations to safeguard ballots and the public square

Who It’s For:

• Voters and civic educators

• Election officials and democracy advocates

• Journalists, technologists, and organizers

• Anyone concerned with protecting democratic processes in the AI era

Why It Matters:

Democracy doesn’t just defend itself. In an age of algorithms, we must act collectively to ensure our ballots—not bots—decide our future. The rules we set now will shape the trust and legitimacy of elections for generations to come.

Download includes:

PDF of the full civic brief formatted for easy sharing.

License & Use

This brief is copyrighted © 2025 by Deion Lemelle / Future in Common.

The ideas are meant to be shared, adapted, and built upon.

Please do not republish the full document without permission.

You’re welcome to cite, quote, or use the concepts with attribution.