A statistical survey of 26 major electron events during the period 2002 February through the end of solar cycle 23 is presented . We have obtained electron solar onset times and the peak flux spectra for each event by fitting to a power-law spectrum truncated by an exponential high-energy tail , i.e. , f ( E ) \sim E ^ { - \delta } e ^ { - E / E _ { 0 } } . We also derived the coronal magnetic configurations of the related solar active regions ( ARs ) from the potential-field source-surface ( PFSS ) model . It is found that : ( 1 ) 10 of the 11 well-connected open field-line events are prompt events whose solar onset times coincide with the maxima of flare emission . 13 of the 14 closed field-line events are delayed events . ( 2 ) A not-well-connected open field-line event and one of the closed field-line events are prompt events , they are both associated with large-scale coronal disturbances or dimming . ( 3 ) An averaged harder spectrum is found in open field-line events compared with the closed ones . Specifically , the averaged spectral index \delta is of 1.6 \pm 0.3 in open field-line events and of 2.0 \pm 0.4 in closed ones . The spectra of three closed field-line events show infinite rollover energies E _ { 0 } . These correlations clearly establish a significant link between the coronal magnetic field-line topology and the escape of charged particles from the flaring ARs into interplanetary space during the major solar energetic particle ( SEP ) events .