The FEC took its electronic filing system offline after a reported hacking attempt, disrupting some campaign finance submissions ahead of the US midterm elections.
The outage came amid heavy political advertising spending and could temporarily limit public access to new campaign finance disclosures.
The FEC had not publicly confirmed a cyberattack or announced a definitive restoration timeline in its initial updates.
The US Federal Election Commission (FEC) took its electronic filing system offline following a reported hacking attempt, disrupting campaign-finance disclosures less than a week before the November 3 midterm elections.
The disruption began late on Monday, October 26, after an unidentified attacker allegedly attempted to breach the commission’s systems, Reuters reported.
The FEC said its information technology staff were working to restore the service, but had not publicly confirmed a cyberattack. Previously filed reports remained accessible, while new submissions were affected.
Campaign Finance Disclosures Disrupted
The FEC’s electronic filing system allows candidates, political parties and campaign committees to submit mandatory reports detailing fundraising and spending.
The outage prevented organisations from filing certain reports required within 24 or 48 hours, limiting the public’s ability to track campaign expenditure during the final days of campaigning.
The commission said its filing system had been offline since around 10pm Eastern Time on Monday. By Tuesday evening, officials had identified the technical issue and were implementing a fix, although the system remained unavailable.
The disruption comes as candidates and outside groups spend heavily on the midterms, which will determine whether President Donald Trump’s Republican Party retains its majorities in Congress.
According to advertising tracker AdImpact, spending and reservations for political advertising had reached approximately $11.21 billion, surpassing the previous record set during the 2024 election cycle.
Campaign-finance experts warned that the outage could leave voters, journalists and watchdog groups with less information about who is funding candidates and political campaigns. The FEC does not administer elections, and the disruption was not expected to affect voting itself.
Cybersecurity Concerns Ahead Of Midterm Polls
The incident has drawn attention to cybersecurity risks facing US election-related institutions. On October 16, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a public advisory warning that election and campaign officials could face phishing, text-message scams and other attempts to obtain sensitive information during the 2026 election cycle.
The agencies urged officials and the public to exercise caution when handling suspicious messages and links. However, no public evidence has established that the reported FEC incident was linked to a foreign government or a politically motivated group.
The FEC had not announced a definitive restoration timeline in its initial updates. The outage highlighted the importance of timely campaign-finance disclosures, particularly during the final stretch of an election when spending can rise sharply.
Until the electronic filing system is restored, delays in reporting could temporarily limit public scrutiny of political contributions and expenditure.
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