FEC campaign finance system offline days before midterms after hackers reportedly target site

People take part in early voting in the Midterm Elections at a polling center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Manhattan, New York City, on October 24, 2026. Selcuk Acar | Anadolu | Getty ImagesThe Federal Election Commission said Tuesday night that it identified the issue affecting its electronic filing system and was implementing a fix, after reports that a hacker or hackers had targeted the agency's systems days before the midterm elections.But the system remained offline early Wednesday, cutting off a key window into campaign money just as late-election spending surges.An FEC electronic filings official told campaign compliance firms Monday night that a "bad actor" was attempting to breach the agency's systems and that public-facing services had been shut down, according to an email obtained by Reuters. The filing system has been offline since around 10 p.m. ET Monday.The FEC has not said who was behind the reported breach attempt, whether anyone gained access to its systems or whether any data was compromised. Previously filed reports remain searchable.In the final 20 days before an election, candidate committees must report certain contributions or loans of $1,000 or more w...