The Federal Election Commission’s electronic filing system went offline just after 10 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, 26 October 2026, after a bad actor tried to breach its systems, according to an FEC officer’s email seen by Reuters. The system was restored on Wednesday, 28 October, after nearly 41 hours offline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the blackout, super PACs and other groups could not file mandatory 24-hour and 48-hour reports showing last-minute spending for or against candidates, days before the midterm elections on Tuesday, 3 November 2026. OpenSecrets research director Brendan Glavin said super PACs and dark-money groups spent an average of over 50 million dollars per day the week before the outage, and more than 250 million dollars in spending was reported on 20 October alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Watchdog Molly White said, “We didn’t have access to the last-minute spending… We have no visibility into that when the filing systems are down.” OpenSecrets’ Hilary Braseth said, “Disclosure delayed is disclosure denied.” Campaign managers had to reset passwords to log back in after the system returned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is confirmed is the outage, its timing, the restoration after nearly 41 hours, and the filing gap it created. What is not confirmed is the attacker identity or motive. Reuters reported it could not establish the motive, and it is not confirmed whether any data was stolen or altered, or whether anyone deliberately used the blackout to hide unpopular spending. White herself framed that only as where people’s minds go, not as a finding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One point must be clear: the FEC does not run elections, count ballots or operate voting machines. The outage did not stop anyone voting, and it should not be presented as an election-rigging claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exact restoration minute is also reported differently. Reuters reported restoration Wednesday night, while The Hill’s summary said it was back Wednesday afternoon, with an FEC post on X shortly before 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Do not state a single minute as fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With control of Congress at stake, the story is suspenseful because the money kept flowing while the public could not see who spent it, and the villain remains unnamed. That gap, days before voters decide, is why the blackout travelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sources: Reuters, 27-28 Oct 2026; The Hill summary, 28 Oct 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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