Anyone checking the latest federal campaign spending records this week may find some information missing. A computer security problem at the Federal Election Commission has interrupted the submission of new financial disclosures, leaving the agency trying to restore its reporting service just before the November 3 elections.
The problem affects political committees and the companies that prepare their federal paperwork. They still have reporting obligations, but the normal electronic method for sending documents to the government has been unavailable since late Monday.
An attempted intrusion appears to be behind the shutdown. On October 26, an FEC employee informed several campaign compliance businesses that the agency had detected someone trying to access its computer systems. Officials decided to suspend services available through the website while they dealt with the situation.
The interruption began at approximately 10 p.m. Eastern. By the following morning, the commission was still examining the problem. Technicians continued their work into Tuesday evening, when the agency announced that it had determined what needed fixing and had started making the necessary changes.
There was no indication in Tuesday’s final reported update that electronic submissions had resumed. The website’s existing collection of financial documents remained available for people who wanted to examine earlier campaign activity.
The missing reports are the immediate concern. Federal rules require some political expenditures to be disclosed within a day or two of occurring. When the system isn’t accepting those records, people following campaign finances cannot see the latest activity through the usual reporting process.
Steven Mele, who runs MBA Consulting Group, works with the financial rules governing political campaigns. He has spent more than two decades in that business and told reporters that this particular kind of interruption was new to him. Until the system returns, he expects the public to have less information about election-related spending.
This is happening during a particularly expensive campaign season. AdImpact’s figures put the value of advertising already purchased, together with advertising scheduled for later, at about $11.21 billion.
For comparison, the total during the 2024 elections was $11.2 billion. Of that amount, $3.2 billion went toward advertising in the presidential contest involving Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
Much of the current activity involves organizations that spend independently of candidates. Some are super PACs, which can obtain contributions of any size from donors permitted under federal rules. Other organizations involved in political spending do not publicly identify everyone providing their funding.
OpenSecrets has been monitoring the pace of those expenditures. Its research director, Brendan Glavin, reported that these outside organizations had collectively averaged upward of $50 million in daily spending during the previous week. Reports for October 20 alone put the amount above $250 million.
The November elections will decide whether Republicans continue holding majorities in the House and Senate. Democrats are also contesting seats in areas that have generally supported Republican candidates.
Despite the timing, the FEC shutdown is not a disruption of voting equipment or ballot operations. The commission’s work concerns campaign finances, while the actual conduct of elections falls outside its responsibilities.
Federal investigators and cybersecurity officials referred requests for information to the commission. The identity of the person or people behind the attempted intrusion had not been disclosed in the information available Tuesday night.
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