According to a report by Reuters on October 27, one week before the U.S. midterm elections, the website of the U.S. Federal Election Commission was attacked by hackers, resulting in its electronic filing system being paralyzed. The Federal Election Commission does not participate in the management of U.S. elections, but is responsible for monitoring and tracking campaign funding expenditures. The cyber attack on this agency will affect the disclosure of campaign financial information.
The Federal Election Commission said in a statement: “At present, the committee’s electronic reporting system is offline, and our technicians are actively working to restore it.” The agency refused to comment further on the malfunction, only emphasizing that users can still search for past reports on its website.
The United States Federal Election Commission is responsible for tracking the expenditures of candidates and political action committees, and does not participate in electoral management. Therefore, a malfunction of its website will not affect the ability of American voters to vote, but it will prevent various political organizations from submitting expenditure reports within 24 and 48 hours to the commission.
According to reports, the electronic reporting system malfunctioned starting from local time on the evening of the 26th. An official from the Federal Election Commission revealed in an email: “We have discovered that malicious actors are attempting to infiltrate the systems of the Federal Election Commission. Therefore, we have had to temporarily shut down various online services.”
Political Financial Compliance Consulting Company MBA Consulting Group President Steven Miller said, "In my 26 years of work, I have never seen such a situation. As a result, election information disclosure will be reduced until the problem is resolved."
This incident occurred just one week before the U.S. midterm elections, which have become the most expensive election in American history. According to political advertising tracker company AdImpact, the total spending on advertisements for the 2026 midterm elections and future advertising orders has reached $11.21 billion, surpassing the expenses incurred during the 2024 presidential elections.
Most of the funds come from super political action committees of both the Republican and Democratic parties in the United States. These organizations can receive unlimited funding from wealthy individuals and businesses, and they can spend money freely during election campaigns, with almost no restrictions.
No party affiliated organizations are campaigning to supervise, according to OpenSecrets, a research firm. The average daily expenditure of Super Political Action Committee and other political groups over the past week was 50 million US dollars. On October 20th alone, the total spending exceeded 250 million US dollars.
Graveen said, “This is a major event. These key reports let us know what’s happening. In the last few days before the elections, this is the only way we can keep track of the flow of funds.”
