Why some Ontario voters are turning to AI chatbots for 2026 municipal elections
TORONTO — Eric Apps had an inkling of who would get his vote in Toronto’s municipal election, but the lawyer wanted a second opinion before making his final decision.
As Toronto's municipal election approaches, some voters are turning to AI chatbots like Claude for election information. Lawyer Eric Apps, for instance, consulted the AI chatbot in Parkdale-High Park, a ward where incumbent councillor Gord Perks is retiring. Apps asked Claude for the top five candidates in his ward and their policies on issues such as bike lanes, housing, and property taxes.
Claude provided the information in a digestible format, which Apps found helpful. However, he acknowledged the chatbot's limitations, especially with candidates who aren't widely reported on or have limited online presence. Quebec researchers found that around 40% of the province's voters turned to AI chatbots during their recent provincial election, and many of the chatbots provided false or outdated information.
Experts warn that this shift in democratic process could be troubling, as AI might be providing false information. AI chatbots have become a primary source of information for some voters, but it's unclear what their technical process is for gathering information. AI researcher Alissa Centivany notes that the quality of information provided by AI chatbots is often lower than expected, especially in political elections.
The AI chatbots can include user-generated content from social media sites in their information, which can be unverified and potentially misleading. While AI platforms make political participation easier, users must be vigilant and fact-check the information they receive.
Written by urgent.news from CityNews's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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