Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

After an issue with Northampton County's voting machines disrupted November's general election, the battery of tests designed to make sure equipment works has drawn new scrutiny.

Kevin Dellicker, a Republican candidate for PA-7, said he could support federal legislation setting stricter restrictions on abortion. His opponents in the Republican primary, Ryan Mackenzie and Maria Montero, said the issue of abortion access should be left to the states. (First of five parts)

A divided 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to uphold enforcement of the required date on return envelopes.

In a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk, along with other community leaders and groups, delivered passionate pleas to help with voter turnout this year.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra toured St. Luke's University Health Network facilities in Allentown Monday while making time to speak with Latino voters about the 2024 presidential campaign.

After two Northampton County elections with voting machine problems in less than five years, the county council is moving to take a more active role in scrutinizing how the county's elections are run.

Northampton County has changed six polling locations for the April 23 primary election, the county elections office announced Friday.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey got a mention during President Biden's State of the Union address but U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, did not. Politics reporter Tom Shortell provides a post-mortem on the SOTU.

Christie Nicas, a Bethlehem woman who conceived two children through in vitro fertilization, will attend President Joe Biden's 2024 State of the Union address Thursday as a guest of U.S. Rep. Susan Wild.

Three secure ballot drop-off boxes will be installed in new areas of Northampton County prior to the April 23 primary election, bringing the total number of drop-off boxes in the county to seven.

The Lehigh County Board of Elections voted 3-0 to certify 191,158 ballots Wednesday afternoon. Fights over how to count contested provisional ballots are already popping up in the neck-and-neck U.S. Senate race between Bob Casey and David McCormick.

Northampton County's elections commission voted in a multi-day hearing to count provisional ballots missing certain signatures. Their decision has been challenged in county court.

Allentown City Councilman Ed Zucal officially kicked off his campaign for mayor Tuesday at Fairgrounds Hotel.

This week on Political Pulse, Tom Shortell and Chris Borick talk about political campaign budgets and funding, comparing this year's election cycle to those past.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court order Monday is a win for David McCormick and a loss for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey as the campaigns prepare for a statewide recount and press counties for favorable ballot-counting decisions.

Allentown City Council President Cynthia Mota will face Councilman Ed Zucal and Mayor Matt Tuerk in the 2025 Democratic primary.

U.S. Rep.-elect Ryan Mackenzie said he expects the incoming Congress and Trump administration to attempt to pull back funding for some projects approved by the Biden administration. "We do want to make sure that the priorities and that the things we want to be achieving, not only as a country but in our local community, are met," he said in an interview with LehighValleyNews.com.

Mayor Matt Tuerk is seeking a second term but faces challenges from City Council President Cynthia Mota and member Ed Zucal.

Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt ordered the recount in the race between U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and David McCormick, based on results that remain unofficial from the Nov. 5 general election.

Northampton County officials will sort through nearly 4,000 provisional ballots. A significant portion of them came from the polling places serving Lehigh University and Lafayette College.

This week on Political Pulse, Tom and Chris talk about the outcomes of the general election — including Northampton County's significance in elections.

Since the start of the 20th century, Northampton County has backed the winning president all but three times. It lived up to its bellwether status again by narrowly backing President-elect Donald Trump over Kamala Harris in last week's 2024 presidential election.