Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

Political scientist Chris Borick joined Tom Shortell again this week to try to make sense of the government shutdown and what it all means.

Senate Democrats have refused to fund the federal government unless Republicans agree to extend tax subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. U.S. Ryan Mackenzie supports the tax subsidies but echoed Republican demands that no deal can be struck until the federal government is funded.

Candidates for Southern Lehigh School Board participated in a forum Tuesday at the Univest Public Media Center organized by the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County. There are seven candidates on the ballot, vying for four seats.

Candidates for Parkland School Board will participate in a forum tonight at the Univest Public Media Center organized by the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County. There are six candidates on the ballot, vying for four seats.

Northampton County Council voted down a measure Thursday that would have required administrators to seek the council's approval before spending money on planned satellite voting offices in Bethlehem and Washington Township.

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure released his proposal Thursday for the 2026 county budget. The proposal keeps taxes flat.

From its founding via executive order at the start of the year, the U.S. Department of Government Efficiencies, or DOGE, intended to accomplish a number of lofty goals. But has DOGE lived up to its promise?

Thousands of federal employees are expected to go on furlough and millions more will be expected to work without pay after Congress failed to reach a short-term funding deal by Wednesday's deadline.

Pennsylvania's counties, school districts and social service agencies are warning of mounting layoffs, borrowing costs and damage to the state’s safety net as the politically divided state government enters its fourth month of a budget stalemate.

Candidates for East Penn School Board will participate in a forum tonight at the Univest Public Media Center organized by the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County. There are seven candidates on the ballot, vying for four seats.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have arranged for their own debates with CNN, ABC and CBS, cutting out the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates. The commission had selected Lafayette College to host its vice presidential debate in September.

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild said plans to consolidate the Lehigh Valley's mail processing center appear to have been pushed back. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy backed off a controversial cost-savings effort after receiving pushback from a bipartisan contingent of the U.S. Senate.

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.