Around 10 p.m. Monday, a "bad actor" tried to break into the computer systems of the Federal Election Commission, the agency that tracks the money in American politics.

The FEC pulled the plug. It took its web-facing services offline, including the electronic filing system that campaigns, PACs, and political groups use to report where their money comes from and where it goes.

That was eight days before Election Day. As of Wednesday morning, the system still wasn't back up.

"At this time, the FEC's electronic filing system is currently offline and our IT staff are actively working to restore service," the agency said. A later update said only that "work continues."

The timing couldn't be worse. In the last stretch before an election, outside groups pouring money into ads have to file quick reports, within 24 or 48 hours of spending it. Those reports are how voters, reporters, and watchdogs see who's behind the last-minute ad blitz. With the filing system down, those reports can't come in.

The public can still search reports that were already filed. What's missing is everything new, at exactly the moment when money is moving fastest.

Plenty of questions are still open. The FEC hasn't said who tried to get in, whether they actually got in, or whether anyone's information was taken. It also hasn't said when the system will be back.

Foreign governments have gone after American election data before. Documents the White House declassified in July showed that China had obtained about 220 million American voter records from at least 18 states. U.S. intelligence agencies have repeatedly named China, Russia, and Iran as threats to American elections.

One piece of good news: the FEC doesn't run elections. It tracks campaign money, so the attack won't affect anyone's ability to vote or how ballots are counted.

It does mean voters may head to the polls next Tuesday without seeing who paid for the final week of ads.

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