The US Federal Election Commission’s electronic filing system was disrupted after hackers attempted to breach the agency’s systems, temporarily blocking the submission of mandatory campaign finance disclosures just days before the November 3 midterm elections.
The FEC said its electronic filing system was offline while its information technology staff worked to restore service. Although users could still access previously filed reports, political committees and other organisations were unable to submit new 24-hour and 48-hour spending disclosures.
The commission stressed that it does not administer elections, meaning the disruption was not expected to affect voters’ ability to cast ballots.
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FEC Shuts Web-Facing Services After Breach Attempt
The filing system had been unavailable since around 10 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday.
In an email sent to campaign compliance firms, an FEC electronic filings officer said a “bad actor” was attempting to breach the agency’s systems, prompting the commission to temporarily shut down its web-facing services.
By Tuesday evening, the FEC said the problem had been identified and that a fix was being implemented, although the electronic filing service remained unavailable at the time.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI referred questions about the incident to the FEC.
The disruption prevented campaign finance officers from filing reports that disclose late-stage political spending during the final days of election campaigns.
Mandatory Spending Reports Go Offline
The affected 24-hour and 48-hour reports are used to disclose how much political groups and other organisations are spending on specific races.
Steven Mele, president and chief executive of political finance compliance firm MBA Consulting Group, said he had not seen a similar disruption in 26 years.
The timing is particularly significant because large amounts of campaign money are being spent immediately before the elections.
Political ad tracker AdImpact estimates that roughly $11.21 billion has already been spent on advertising and future reservations for the midterms, making them the most expensive US election cycle on record by that measure.
That total exceeds the approximately $11.2 billion spent across the 2024 elections, including around $3.2 billion in advertising connected to the presidential race.
Record Political Spending Raises Disclosure Concerns
Super political action committees and so-called dark money groups have been major contributors to the surge in campaign spending.
According to OpenSecrets research director Brendan Glavin, such groups had spent an average of more than $50 million per day during the previous week.
More than $250 million in spending was reported on October 20 alone.
Glavin said the outage was significant because the late-stage reports are an important source of information about where political money is being spent and who is financing that activity.
Until the FEC restores its electronic filing system, newly required campaign finance reports cannot be submitted through the normal process, reducing the availability of up-to-date spending information during the closing days of the midterm campaign.
About the author — Suvedita Nath is a science student with a growing interest in cybercrime and digital safety. She writes on online activity, cyber threats, and technology-driven risks. Her work focuses on clarity, accuracy, and public awareness.
