New York. Hackers have disrupted the electronic filing system of the US Federal Election Commission (FCC) ahead of the November 3 mid-term elections in the US. According to Reuters, due to this, political parties and committees have a problem in submitting mandatory details of election expenses.
The Commission has said that the online service has been temporarily closed after unauthorized access to the system was attempted. Information technology staff are working to restore service. Even though there is a problem in registering the election expenditure details which have to be submitted within 24 hours and 48 hours due to the disruption, the old details can be viewed on the website.
The FC does not conduct elections, although it records the expenses of candidates and political committees. Therefore, this incident is not expected to affect the ability of voters to vote.
The cyber incident took place before the election that will determine whether or not President Donald Trump’s Republican Party can maintain its majority in Congress. Trump has stated that he will accept the results if the election is fair and mentioned that he can use the presidential power of prohibition if necessary. He also announced a reward of one million US dollars to those who provide information on voter fraud and assist in arresting and punishing the culprits.
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and about one-third of the Senate seats are being contested in the elections. A CBS News poll estimates that Democrats could win 229 seats in the House of Representatives. The survey of 2,355 American adults conducted between October 21 and 23 found inflation, rising prices and economic concerns to be the top issues among voters.
The survey indicates that participation can play an important role in the election results, as the commitment to voting is more visible among Democrat voters. -ANI