Some voters casting ballots in the 2026 US midterm elections are leaning on AI chatbots to research candidates and even decide who to vote for. NPR reported the trend on October 4, calling it the first midterm election since AI went mainstream.

NPR profiled Adam Johnson, a graphic designer in West Virginia, who spent hours discussing his ballot with ChatGPT. He asked the chatbot to list the races on his ballot and compare candidates by the criteria he chose.

A Qlik survey released September 29 found that 11 per cent of voters already use AI chatbots for election information, while 13 per cent name AI as a trusted source. Most voters who trust AI still verify its answers elsewhere.

Election researchers warn of limits. An August study by the States United Democracy Center found that ChatGPT and Google AI gave incomplete and inconsistent answers to common voter questions.

The Boston Globe called 2026 the first-ever AI election. Campaigners say candidates must now go where voters are, which increasingly means answering questions on AI tools.