A cyberattack has targeted the US Federal Election Commission (FEC), disrupting its electronic filing system just days before the crucial midterm elections on November 3.
The breach, confirmed by FEC officials, prevents organizations from submitting mandatory 24-hour and 48-hour spending reports, essential for tracking campaign financing during a record-breaking election cycle.
Significance of the Outage
Campaign finance transparency is under threat as super PACs and dark money groups are reported to be spending unprecedented amounts in the final days leading up to the election.
I’ve never seen this in 26 years,” said Steven Mele, president and CEO of political finance compliance firm MBA Consulting Group.
- The FEC's electronic filing system went offline around 10 PM ET on Monday.
- By Tuesday evening, FEC officials announced that they identified the issue and were implementing a fix.
While the FEC stated that voter access to ballots remains unaffected, the inability to file spending reports leaves voters without critical information about campaign financing.
The current midterms are projected to be the most expensive in US history, with around $11.21 billion allocated for advertising and reservations, surpassing the previous record of $11.2 billion set in 2024.
Major spending is driven by super PACs, which can raise unlimited funds from individuals and corporations. Reports indicate these groups have been averaging over $50 million in spending daily.
Brendan Glavin, research director at OpenSecrets, emphasized the critical nature of the reports that have been disrupted, stating, “In the last days of the election, this is the only way for us to keep track of where the money’s being spent.”