Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

The Pennsylvania Department of State is starting a new office to help train county election workers, Pa. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said. It also plans to update its guidance for logic and accuracy testing that could have caught issues with the Northampton County voting machines.

In a letter to Gov. Josh Shapiro, state Rep. Milou Mackenzie asked the Department of State to provide Northampton County with instructions on how to avoid more Election Day mistakes with their voting machines.

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure on Friday named a human resources department manager as his acting director of administration. She joined the county in May 2022.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Mark Pinsley announced Friday, Dec. 1, that he will run for auditor general in 2024. The position oversees financial and performance audits of Pennsylvania state government.

County Executive Lamont McClure reiterated Thursday he will not step down after the county experienced widespread problems with its voting machines on Election Day. Despite the problems, the county's Election Commission certified the results last week.

Republican Kat Copeland is hoping her experience as a federal and local prosecutor will help her become Pennsylvania's next attorney general.

County Executive Lamont McClure on Friday accepted the resignation of Charles Dertinger, his director of administration and a longtime political ally. As director of administration, Dertinger oversaw the county elections division, which came under scrutiny in the wake of widespread voting machine problems in the Nov. 7 election.

The Northampton County Republican Committee's legal team is in discussions with the Pennsylvania Republican Committee's legal team on how to proceed toward decertifying the county's election machines.

By a 4-1 vote, the Northampton County Election Commission certified the Nov. 7 election results, despite widespread problems with its voting machines.

The House State Government Committee moved a bill forward along party lines Monday that would limit how county election departments can be funded.

The Democrat becomes the youngest ever elected to Allentown council.

After an apparently failed bid to unseat Democratic County Executive Lamont McClure, in Northampton County, Republican candidate Steve Lynch took to Facebook to call for an investigation into the election and promise his campaign isn’t over.

J. William Reynolds' victory means his spot on Bethlehem City Council will have to be filled.

A back-and-forth battle on Election Night ends with Armstrong saying he's captured a 2nd term.

A major Lehigh Valley race is still too close to call. As of 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Republican challenger for the Lehigh County executive, Glenn Eckhart, barely trailed behind incumbent Phil Armstrong, a Democrat.

The Democrat defeated controversial Republican challenger Steve Lynch with 56 percent of the vote.

Democrat J. William Reynolds will be the next mayor of Bethlehem according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s election. He appears to have defeated Republican John Kachmar 63 to 36 percent.

At the Lehigh County Government Center, the hub for election results in Lehigh County, there wasn’t as much foot traffic inside the actual polling room on the main floor.

Candidates reach out to potential voters by going door-to-door and hosting listening sessions.

Conflict and tension have ramped up at school board meetings amid the coronavirus pandemic.

J. William Reynolds and John Kachmar clashed on spending, taxes and what to do with the city's share of American Rescue Plan funding.