PricingAnthropic
Claude's $200 plan is now called Ultra, and the Code tab looks different
Max 20× is now Ultra (same $200 price); Max is the $100 plan. The Code tab's folder controls moved under the message box. Cowork tasks now run in Anthropic's cloud.
New plan names, same prices. In late October, Anthropic renamed its top individual plans. The $100 plan that was “Max 5×” is now just Max. The $200 plan that was “Max 20×” is now Ultra, and subscribers moved over automatically with no price change. Ultra gives 10 times Pro’s usage each week, and once Anthropic verifies the account it has no 5-hour limit. For folder projects, most people who outgrow Pro will be fine on Max. (Anthropic: What is the Ultra plan? · Pricing & Plans)
The Code tab’s folder steps moved. Since October 15, you pick where Claude works in the row under the message box: choose Local, then click the folder control and choose Open folder…. Older versions of the app show these controls above the box. Every walkthrough on this site now uses the new steps. (Anthropic: Code tab quickstart)
Cowork now runs in the cloud. Since October 6, new Cowork tasks on Pro, Max, and Ultra run on Anthropic’s computers, and the “only on your computer” choice is gone. Anthropic’s help page says to use the Code tab for work that should stay on your computer, which is how every example on this site works. (Anthropic)
Smaller changes: cloud “routines” are now called scheduled tasks; memory settings are moving to Settings → Your Claude; and the Microsoft 365 connector now works on every plan, Free included. (Going Further)
What it means for your office: if a coworker’s screen doesn’t match a walkthrough, check which version of the app they have (Help → Check for Updates…). And keep work that should stay on your computer in the Code tab.
PolicyAnthropic
Claude's midterm voting answers, and a new election rule
Claude now answers where-to-vote questions with state-specific information from Democracy Works and shows official results on election night. Anthropic's updated Usage Policy, in effect November 12, bans impersonating election officials.
On October 14, 2026, Anthropic said that for U.S. users, Claude will use official voting information from Democracy Works, a nonpartisan group that collects it from state and local election sources. Someone who asks Claude where to vote or what ID to bring should get an answer for their own state. Claude will keep showing a banner that links to TurboVote, and on election night it will show the latest official results in the conversation. (Anthropic: Preparing for the 2026 US midterms)
Anthropic also updated its Usage Policy, its rules for what people may use Claude for. The new version takes effect November 12. Its elections section now focuses on deceiving voters and disrupting elections, including spreading false information about voting and impersonating candidates or election officials. Anthropic removed a broader ban on personalized voter outreach, because it also blocked legitimate work. One example it gives is election officials sending ballot cure notices. Outreach that deceives people or misuses personal data is still banned. (Anthropic: 2026 Usage Policy update)
What it means for your office: voters may arrive with an answer that came from Claude. If your website, voter guide, and notices agree with each other and with state law, those answers have the best chance of being right. Find contradictions is one way to check. The policy change doesn’t change the rules on this site: public information only, and never voter records in the folder.
Policy
Chapter 2026-26 has three effective dates
The 2026 elections law takes effect in three groups: April 1, 2026, July 1, 2026, and most sections on January 1, 2027.
The 2026 elections package, chapter 2026-26, Laws of Florida (a PDF), does not take effect all at once. Section 34 sets the dates, and some sections say they take effect on becoming a law.
- April 1, 2026 (when the Governor signed it). The candidate qualifying changes, including the 365-day rule and the new oaths in s. 99.021, F.S., plus changes to s. 99.0211, s. 99.061(7)(a), s. 105.031(5)(a), and s. 106.023(3), and s. 98.015(4), F.S. (your office may close to observe holidays when it is not otherwise required to be open).
- July 1, 2026. The five-year limit on prosecuting Election Code felonies (s. 104.042), the rule on contributions from foreign nationals (s. 106.08(12)), and a change to the racketeering definitions in s. 895.02(8).
- January 1, 2027. Most of the rest, including the photo ID list that poll workers check at the polls in s. 101.043, F.S.
A trap for AI work: Online Sunshine’s 2026 pages already show the January 2027 wording, with no note. Read the History line at the bottom of each section to see which chapter law changed it. Then open that chapter law (laws.flrules.org) and read its effective-date section to see when. Training slides and procedures written now for an election after January 1, 2027 should follow the new text. Ask your office’s attorney which version applies to a specific election.
Site update
Check what chatbots tell your voters before early voting
A new prompt on the Misinformation response page asks 15 plain voter questions in a fresh session and compares the answers with your website.
More voters now ask a chatbot before they ask your office. In September 2026, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) tested six chatbots with 15 general voting questions in 10 states. Florida was not one of them, so it can’t tell you what chatbots say about your county.
The Misinformation response page now has a prompt, “Ask the chatbot our voters ask,” that lets you find out. In a fresh session, the AI answers 15 plain voter questions the way a chatbot would. It then compares each answer with your website, lists every wrong or out-of-date date, and names the page to fix. Read every row yourself: you know your county’s dates.
The same page has a new warning for fake audio clips, videos, ads, and notices. Save the evidence, don’t repost it, and take it to your Supervisor and your office’s attorney. Florida requires a disclaimer on certain AI-made political ads that show a real person doing something they did not do, when made to hurt a candidate or mislead about a ballot issue (s. 106.145). On its face the law is about political advertising. Complaints about a missing disclaimer go to the Florida Elections Commission (s. 106.145(4)(b)). The state also has a rule on election fraud complaints (Rule 1S-2.025). Read the current text of both, and let your attorney say how they apply to what you found.
Site update
The EAC lists AI resources for election officials
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission keeps a page with an AI toolkit and case studies. We now link it from For Leadership and the FAQ.
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has a page of AI resources for election officials. It lists an AI toolkit, case studies from election offices that use AI, and cybersecurity guidance. It is a federal source that agrees with the approach on this site: AI helps with the drafting, and people stay responsible for the facts.
Some case-study examples, such as scheduling poll workers, use staff information. On this site that is yellow. Clean the file first: delete every column that holds personal information, then put only the cleaned file in the AI project folder.
CISA, the federal cybersecurity agency, also lists no-cost election security services. For Leadership has both links.
Earlier updates (8)
Site update
The site now teaches the desktop apps and a project folder
Every page now starts in the Claude or ChatGPT desktop app, working in a project folder, with shorter prompts that say what to do, what to use, and what you want back.
The site now teaches the Claude desktop app and the ChatGPT desktop app instead of a web browser. You make one folder for each project, on your C: drive, OneDrive, or an external drive, and open it in the app. The AI goes and gets the public sources itself, saves them in the folder, and saves what it builds there too. The prompts are shorter: they say what to do, what to use, and what you want back, and you can say them out loud or type them. Start with Getting Started and Folder projects.
Site update
First version of the site goes up
The first version of AI for Florida Elections went online: the Safe Use Framework, the first use case, and the site structure.
The Safe Use Framework, the first use case, and the overall layout of the site went online. More use cases, prompts, and examples followed in the weeks after.
FeaturesAnthropic
Claude's Cowork and chat become one
Anthropic is merging Cowork into regular Claude, so the same chat box can handle quick questions and longer, multi-step tasks. Claude Docs and Slides launched the same day.
Anthropic announced that “Claude Cowork is now just Claude.” Instead of choosing between a chat and a Cowork task, you ask for what you need and Claude decides whether it’s a quick answer or a longer task that hands back a finished file. The change reaches Pro and Max first; Team and Free come later, and Enterprise admins get at least 30 days’ notice. (Anthropic)
If your app no longer shows separate Chat and Cowork options, you have the new experience. The Code tab steps on this site still apply.
Update, October 16, 2026: the change is still reaching Pro and Max accounts in stages. Team plans keep Chat and Cowork separate for now. On Enterprise plans it’s a beta that an admin turns on (“Chat and Cowork unified”). Anthropic says the Code tab stays where it was. (Anthropic: Team and Enterprise)
Update, November 7, 2026: still reaching Pro, Max, and Ultra in stages. Team now has it as a beta an owner can turn on. Enterprise got it as a regular feature on October 23, and it turns on by default November 16 unless an owner keeps it off. (Anthropic: Enterprise)
What it means for your office: tasks that can take actions (working with files, a browser, or connected apps) are now closer to everyday chat. Review the connectors and actions guidance before you connect anything.
FeaturesMicrosoft
Microsoft 365 Copilot is now "Microsoft Copilot"
Microsoft renamed Microsoft 365 Copilot to Microsoft Copilot and the free Copilot Chat to Microsoft Copilot Chat. Its Microsoft 365 G7 plan for government (GCC) customers became available to eligible customers on October 1.
Microsoft says the rename doesn’t change security, compliance, or privacy terms: work-account chats still stay inside the Microsoft 365 service boundary and aren’t used to train the models. Old names will show up on some screens, licenses, and price pages for a while. The Copilot app’s main address is now copilot.cloud.microsoft. (Microsoft Learn)
For government tenants, Microsoft announced Microsoft 365 G7 on September 15, 2026, bundling Copilot with security and compliance tools. It became available to eligible GCC customers on October 1, with more purchase options from November 1. Microsoft hasn’t published a price, and the announcement covers GCC only. Some Copilot features arrive in phases after launch. (Microsoft)
See Microsoft Copilot for what the free and paid versions do.
PricingOpenAI
OpenAI's OneGov 2.0 offer for governments
Expected to take effect October 1, 2026 (GSA) and run through 2028: the $15 per-user license fee is $0, and usage is billed at 50% off.
OpenAI announced the offer on September 10, 2026. The offer takes effect October 1, 2026 (GSA’s words: “expected to take effect”). The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) says there is no platform fee, no minimum order, and no spend commitment, so you pay only for what you use, at 50% off. That makes it usage pricing, not a free ChatGPT seat. GSA says eligible governments can order directly from OpenAI, through resellers, or through cloud marketplaces. (GSA · OpenAI)
What we don’t know yet: which ChatGPT plan a Florida county would get, and the sign-up steps. Neither OpenAI nor GSA names a plan. Treat it as something to ask OpenAI’s government team about, and have your attorney read the terms. See Pricing & Plans.
ChatGPT Pro now lists three monthly tiers: $100, $200, and $500.
Policy
Secretary of State issues Directives 2026-02 and 2026-03
Directive 2026-02 covers candidate name changes. Directive 2026-03 covers citizenship checks on voter applications starting January 1, 2027.
The Secretary of State, as the state’s chief election officer, sends directives to Supervisors of Elections. The Division of Elections lists them on its directives page. Two new ones matter to the pages on this site.
Directive 2026-02 (April 22, 2026): candidate name changes. It covers a candidate who changed their name by petition within the 365 days before qualifying, but before April 1, 2026. Such a candidate may qualify under the prior name. The candidate qualifying kit has a 365-day note that is worth reading next to it.
Directive 2026-03 (July 29, 2026): citizenship checks on applications. Register every applicant as you always have. From January 1, 2027, when the state’s driver license data (the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, or DHSMV) shows an applicant as a non-citizen or unknown, the directive tells Supervisors how to check through state and federal sources, including SAVE (a federal system that checks immigration status). Depending on the result, the office then notifies the applicant and gives a provisional ballot, or starts the notice process in s. 98.075(7), F.S.
What it means for AI use: these are instructions for Supervisors, and your office’s attorney and the Division decide how they apply to you. Don’t ask an AI tool to decide any applicant’s status. If you use AI to draft a staff procedure from a directive, give it the directive itself, and have the person who runs registration read every page. Read the directives, not this summary, before you act.
Policy
Florida rewrites its cybersecurity public records exemption
Chapter 2026-120 expanded s. 119.0725, F.S. Login credentials are now confidential and exempt. So are security practices and parts of risk assessments, when disclosure could help an attacker, and portal IP addresses, locations, and access times.
The rewritten section lists new confidential and exempt items, including login credentials; processes and practices that protect data and systems, and portions of cybersecurity risk assessments and audits, but only when disclosing them could facilitate unauthorized access; and IP addresses, location data, and access times of people using a public-facing portal. The exemption now runs until October 2, 2031. (Online Sunshine: s. 119.0725 · Ch. 2026-120)
What it means for AI use: these are red. Never paste credentials, network or security details, or website visitor details such as IP addresses and access times into a public AI tool. The Safe Use Framework is updated. Confirm with your office’s attorney how the new items apply to your records.
Policy
Federal web accessibility deadlines move back a year
The U.S. Department of Justice extended the ADA Title II web and app accessibility compliance dates to April 26, 2027 (populations of 50,000 or more) and April 26, 2028 (under 50,000, or any special district government).
The standard is unchanged: WCAG 2.1 Level AA for websites and mobile apps of state and local governments. Only the dates moved. DOJ says it may propose changes to the rule’s substance later. (Federal Register · ADA.gov fact sheet)
Which date is yours? It likely follows your county’s 2020 Census population (special district governments get the later date too), but confirm with your office’s attorney. The extra year is a good time to work through the accessibility checks use case.