The US Federal Election Commission (FEC) confirmed on Monday evening that its electronic filing system was taken offline following reported hacking attempts, disrupting critical campaign finance disclosures just days before the November 3 midterm elections.
The FEC stated in a status update that its electronic filing system remains offline as of Tuesday, with IT staff actively working to restore service. The agency emphasized that while the filing system is down, users can still search the website for past reports. The FEC does not administer elections, and the outage is not expected to impact voter access to polling places.
The disruption prevents political groups, including super PACs and dark money organizations, from filing 24-hour and 48-hour spending reports, which detail last-minute expenditures in key races. These reports are mandatory under federal election law and provide transparency into late-stage campaign financing. Steven Mele, a partner at political finance compliance firm MBA Consulting Group, called the outage unprecedented, stating, “I’ve never seen this in 26 years. The result is there will be less disclosure on the elections until it’s fixed.”
The FEC’s filing system went down around 10 p.m. ET on Monday, according to an email sent to campaign compliance firms. The message described the incident as a response to “a bad actor attempting to breach FEC systems.” The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Impact on Election Transparency
The outage raises concerns about election finance transparency in the final stretch of the midterms, a cycle already marked by record spending by outside groups. The FEC’s disclosures are a key tool for journalists, watchdog groups, and voters to track last-minute ad buys and campaign expenditures, particularly in competitive races. Without these filings, some spending may remain undisclosed until after Election Day.
No Effect on Voting Process
Despite the disruption, the FEC reiterated that the outage does not affect voting operations. The agency’s role is limited to tracking and disclosing campaign finance data, not administering elections. Election officials in all 50 states have confirmed that polling places, voting machines, and ballot counting processes remain fully operational.
Ongoing Investigation
The FEC has not publicly identified the source of the hacking attempts or confirmed whether any data was accessed. The agency’s investigation is ongoing, and further updates are expected as IT staff work to restore the system. Political committees have been instructed to file reports as soon as the system is restored to ensure compliance with federal deadlines.