The United States Federal Election Commission (FEC) was targeted by a hacker or hackers days before the November 3 midterm elections, disrupting its electronic filing system at the busiest point of the campaign, according to a Reuters report cited by multiple outlets on October 28, 2026.
The FEC said its electronic filing system was offline and that its information technology staff were working to restore the service. An email sent by an FEC electronic filings officer to campaign compliance firms on Monday night said, as reported by Reuters: “We have a bad actor attempting to breach FEC systems. As a result, we’ve had to temporarily shut down our web-facing services.”
The outage prevented political organisations from filing mandatory 24-hour and 48-hour campaign spending reports, which disclose spending on specific races. Users could still search the FEC website for previously filed reports, according to the report. The FEC later said the issue had been identified and a fix was being implemented.
Key Takeaways
- The FEC’s electronic filing system went offline days before the November 3 midterms after what the agency described as an attempted breach.
- Mandatory 24-hour and 48-hour campaign spending reports could not be filed during the outage, though previously filed reports remained searchable.
- The FEC does not administer elections, so the disruption was not expected to affect voters’ ability to cast their ballots.
What happened to the filing system
The disruption comes as political groups and super PACs spend record amounts in the final days of the campaign, which will determine whether President Donald Trump’s Republican Party retains its majorities in Congress. The FEC tracks campaign spending by candidates and political committees, making its filing system a key transparency tool in the closing stretch of a race.
The agency did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment, according to the report, while the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation referred questions to the FEC. No attacker has been publicly identified in the reporting so far, and the reports describe the intruder only as a hacker or hackers.
The outage prevented political organisations from filing mandatory 24-hour and 48-hour campaign spending reports, which disclose spending on specific races.
Trump conditions acceptance on “honest” elections
The cyber incident comes as Trump has emphasised election integrity ahead of the November 3 polls. Asked whether he will respect the election results regardless of the outcome, Trump told reporters on October 27: “I will if they’re honest elections.”
Trump acknowledged there is a possibility Republicans lose control of both chambers of Congress, and said he would use his veto power often under such a scenario while still finding a way to work out deals. “We’ll figure a way. I have a strong veto. I hope that that won’t be the case, but if it is, that’s happened before with many presidents,” he said, according to the reports.
The president’s remarks follow his earlier announcement of a $1 million reward for voter fraud tips linked to past elections or the upcoming midterms, payable upon arrest and conviction. The Justice Department has also filed a lawsuit seeking to block Alaska’s certification of its Senate race if Republicans lose, a case tied to confusion over a candidate sharing a name with the incumbent senator.
Why the midterms matter
The November 3 elections will see all 435 seats in the House of Representatives contested, along with approximately one-third of the Senate seats. The results are expected to shape the balance of political power in Washington and determine how much of the administration’s legislative agenda can advance for the remainder of its term.
Polling reported alongside Trump’s comments points to a possible blue-wave midterm, with Democrats widely favoured to win control of the House and holding multiple viable paths to take control of the Senate. Individual contests remain closely watched, including the Ohio Senate race, where recent polling has drawn national attention.
- All 435 House seats and about a third of Senate seats are on the ballot on November 3.
- The FEC outage hit 24-hour and 48-hour spending disclosures in the campaign’s final days.
- Previously filed reports stayed searchable, and the FEC said a fix was being implemented.
- Trump said he would respect the results “if they’re honest elections” and pointed to his veto power if Democrats take Congress.
What to Watch Next
What to watch next is whether the FEC confirms its filing system is fully restored and whether any delayed spending reports then appear, shedding light on late campaign spending. Attention will also turn to how the election-integrity debate develops in the final days before November 3, and whether the results match the polling that currently favours Democrats in the House race.