Hackers have apparently staged a cyberattack on the U.S., specifically on the Federal Election Commission, or FEC. Reuters reports that the FEC has temporarily shut down its web-facing services while it deals with the attack.
BREAKING: A hacker is attempting to breach the US Federal Election Commission's systems and that agency has had to 'temporarily shut down' its web-facing services as a result, according to an email seen by Reuters https://t.co/0eRHQVCGgu https://t.co/ZXjOWxw1w8
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 27, 2026
The Reuters report states in part:
The US Federal Election Commission's website has been targeted by a hacker or hackers, disrupting the agency's electronic filings system a week before the November 3 elections, according to an email seen by Reuters.
In a statement, the FEC said that, "at this time, the FEC’s electronic filing system is currently offline and our IT staff are actively working to restore service." The FEC, which tracks the spending of candidates and political committees, said that users could still search the website for past reports. It declined further comment on the outage.
The hacking attempts come a week before the midterm elections, which will determine whether President Donald Trump's Republicans maintain their majorities in Congress for the next two years.
The FEC does not play a role in administering US elections and the outage should have no effect on voters' ability to cast ballots.
As of this writing, the FEC's official X account is reporting its systems offline.
FEC's electronic filing system is offline. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working to resolve the issue.
— The FEC (@FEC) October 27, 2026
You can also see the current status of the FEC systems, live, here.
This is not expected to have any impact on next week's and, in some states, ongoing midterm elections. The FEC has no direct role in voting or the tallying of votes. It is an independent federal agency with primary responsibility for enforcing federal campaign finance laws in our federal elections. It also oversees public disclosure of campaign finance data, enforces contribution limits, and manages public funding for presidential campaigns. Whatever the nature of this cyberattack or its outcome, it should have no effect on the elections themselves.
As of this writing, there is no indication as to who is making this attempt, or whether the attack is from a foreign or domestic source.
This is a developing story. We will bring you updates as events warrant.