Does the FEC hack mean votes in the 2026 midterms are compromised? No.
The rumor is False
“Hackers broke into the FEC, so votes in the midterm election are compromised.”
The fact
The Federal Election Commission does not run elections, operate voting machines or count ballots.
It collects federal campaign finance reports, and on Monday night, Oct. 26, it took its electronic filing system offline after an agency officer told filers someone was trying to breach its systems. The claim that this puts votes at risk is wrong: the outage delays spending reports, not ballots, and no one has shown any data was taken. State and local election offices run voting and counting, so take ballot questions to your county election office or call 866-OUR-VOTE.
How this story developed
- The FEC confirms the filing system is offline and IT staff are restoring it. Past reports stay searchable. That evening the agency says the problem is identified and a fix is underway. No voting system is involved.
- The FEC's electronic filing system goes offline around 10 p.m. ET. An agency officer emails compliance firms that someone is trying to breach FEC systems and that web-facing services were shut down.