Cyberattack Disrupts US Campaign Finance Watchdog Days Before Crucial Midterm Elections

As tens of millions of US voters prepare to elect representatives to Congress on Tuesday, November 3, hackers have reportedly targeted the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) website. This cyberattack has disrupted campaign financing disclosures just days before the critical midterm elections.

According to Reuters, an FEC email sent to a campaign compliance firm stated, “We have a bad actor trying to breach FEC systems. As a result, we’ve had to temporarily suspend our web-facing services.” The outage prevents organizations from filing the FEC’s 24 and 48-hour spending reports, which are essential for tracking how political groups and candidates allocate funds in specific races.

The FEC website showed the system was down after 10:15 p.m. EST on Monday (2:15 a.m. GMT on Tuesday). An update posted on Tuesday at 8:17 p.m. EST indicated, “The issue has been identified and a fix is being implemented.” Both the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency deferred questions to the FEC.

While the FEC does not administer US elections, the reported hack occurs as Super PACs and dark money groups are spending record amounts in the final days leading up to the November 3 midterm elections. Democratic FEC Commissioner Dara Lindenbaum clarified on X, stating, “This has NOTHING to do with voter files or voter registration. Those are maintained by the states. The FEC only handles federal campaign finance findings. We are working hard to restore the systems as soon as possible.”

The current midterms are the most expensive in US history, with approximately $11.21 billion spent on advertising and future reservations, according to political advertising tracker AdImpact. This figure surpasses the previous record of $11.2 billion spent in the 2024 elections, which included $3.2 billion in the presidential race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris. A significant portion of this spending comes from Super PACs, independent political committees that can receive unlimited funds from wealthy individuals and corporations and spend them on campaigns with minimal restrictions.

Brendan Glavin, research director at the nonpartisan campaign watchdog group OpenSecrets, noted that Super PACs and dark money groups have been spending an average of $50 million per day over the past week. Glavin emphasized the significance of the situation, stating, “It’s a big deal. In the last days of the election, this is the only way for us to keep track of where the money is being spent.”