The Federal Election Commission announced Tuesday night that it has identified an issue affecting its electronic filing system and is implementing a fix, following reports that hackers targeted the agency’s systems days before the midterm elections.
But the system remained offline since early Wednesday morning, cutting off a key window into campaign finance just as late-election spending surges.
An FEC e-filing official told the election compliance firm on Monday night that “malicious actors” were trying to break into the FEC’s systems and public services were suspended, according to an email seen by Reuters. The filing system has been offline since approximately 10pm ET on Monday.
The FEC has not said who is behind the reported breach attempts, whether anyone gained access to its systems, or whether any data was compromised. Previously submitted reports remain searchable.
The FEC told CNBC that the agency’s IT staff is working to restore service.
During the last 20 days before an election, candidate committees must report certain donations or loans of $1,000 or more within 48 hours, and political committees and outside groups must disclose certain expenditures within 24 hours.
These rules are designed to give voters near real-time visibility into the money pouring into their races when it matters most.
For example, Elon Musk’s U.S. PAC reported nearly $6.8 million in independent spending on communications costs disclosed on Oct. 20, according to a CNBC analysis of FEC filings.
Normally, spending of this size is made public almost immediately, but if the filing system goes down, new money could be funneled into the race while the public is kept in the dark.
The 2026 midterm elections will be the most expensive U.S. election period in political advertising history, with $11.21 billion spent or set aside as of Monday night, a potential blind spot, according to AdImpact.
Political committees and other outside groups reported nearly $610 million in independent spending on communications distributed between Oct. 20 and Oct. 26, an average of about $87 million a day, according to a CNBC analysis of FEC filings.
The failure also hit already weakened government institutions. The six-member FEC, an independent agency that oversees campaign finance laws and has no role in election administration, has only had two members since October 2025 and has been missing the four members needed to take formal action since May 2025. Career staff continues to process disclosures and run day-to-day operations.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation did not respond to requests for comment.
