Surge in deceptive election-themed websites threatens voters before 2026 midterms

Since September 2025, WhoisXML API tracked 62,081 domains featuring election-related keywords, of which 13,645 appear to be campaign-style addresses. Although a large share are owned by genuine campaigns, supporters, or domain investors, the study uncovered active storefronts that use candidate names to sell goods and accept large donation-style contributions. These sites often hide registrant details, use one-year registrations, and copy familiar naming patterns such as "[name]for[office]" or "for[state]"—making them look credible.

Researchers noted examples like a.us domain mimicking a.com fundraising site and a recently created domain that sold both supportive and critical merchandise for the same candidate. The report advises voters to locate official campaign pages through trusted sources, scrutinize URLs, check for proper FEC disclosures, and use secure payment methods. It also recommends monitoring new domain registrations and reporting suspicious sites to registrars or payment providers.