Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

Join Megan Frank at 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. every Friday for Insights with LehighValleyNews.com on WLVR. This week, Megan is joined by Ryan Gaylor and Tom Shortell.

Northampton was one of 14 counties randomly selected to conduct a risk-limiting audit, county Elections Registrar Chris Commini said.

Pennsylvania election officials say the rate of mail-in ballots rejected for technicalities saw a significant drop in last month’s primary election. That is after state officials tried anew to help voters avoid mistakes that might get their ballots thrown out.

A special hourlong program livestreamed on LehighValleyNews.com Wednesday night. Panelists included Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure. The nonpartisan civic education group Keep Our Republic was a partner in the production.

A report from the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion has former President Donald Trump with a 3-point lead over President Joe Biden in a head-to-head battle. That lead becomes a tie when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is included as an option.

Northampton County certified its primary election Tuesday without the worry over voting machine errors it saw in November.

The Democratic-controlled House passed legislation that would let counties get a head start counting mail-in ballots. But Senate Republicans are unlikely to pass it without an unlikely compromise on voter ID provisions.

Join Megan Frank at 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. every Friday for Insights with LehighValleyNews.com on WLVR.

A county judge ordered Northampton Area School District to appoint a new school director by June 3, or the court will take review applicants for the vacancy.

Ryan Mackenzie pulled off a comfortable win in the Republican primary for the PA-7 congressional race. He credited an army of campaign volunteers, but his 12 years in the state House and at least $419,000 of support from a super PAC helped, too.

Pennsylvania officials are imploring voters to return their mail-in ballots now, and in-person at drop boxes - following a recent decision from the U-S Supreme Court that’s called into question the future of ballots that arrive after 8 p.m. on Election Day - and whether they’ll be counted immediately.

With the election less than a week away, Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley are in the spotlight. Wednesday, Allentown was a stop on the democratic campaign trail for Doug Emhoff, husband of democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a quick, pre-election review on Wednesday to a new Republican appeal on mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania. The GOP sought to exclude votes received after Election Day. But the matter isn’t completely settled yet.

Voter registration for the presidential election topped nine million this year in PA, an all-time high.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a rally this morning in Allentown as part of a trio of stops today across the state as candidates head into a pitched battle for the swing state’s 20 electoral votes.

WLVR’s Community Correspondent Genesis Ortega spoke with Jose Rosado, the first Latino to be elected mayor in the history of Pennsylvania - in Fountain Hill. He says that getting even a third of registered Latinos to the polls could swing the election -- but that political parties need to do more to reach those voters.

Mail-in voters have until election day to cast their ballot, Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar is recommending voters do not wait, and where possible avoid using the mail.

Voter registration totals have reached a record high in Pennsylvania - and officials say they’re expecting record turnout on election day as well.

Nearly nine million voters have registered so far to cast their ballots in November, in person and by mail. But Pennsylvania officials say they’re still concerned about getting every vote counted on Election Day.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) is accusing the Trump Administration of hampering postal service deliveries. Casey says he has evidence of large containers of priority mail meant for the Lehigh Valley have been sitting for weeks in a Scranton postal facility.

Matt Tuerk is running for Mayor of Allentown 2021. He made the announcement via Facebook Live Tuesday afternoon.

American financial turmoil was front and center in the first debate between the Lehigh Valley’s candidates for the 7th congressional district.