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.

LehighValleyNews.com tonight will livestream a special program from the Univest Public Media Studio in Bethlehem. 'Beyond the Ballot' will analyze the Nov. 7 general election and look ahead to the 2024 presidential and congressional elections.

WLVR's Megan Frank talks with reporters Phil Gianficaro and Tom Shortell.

Democrat Thomas Johns won a seat on the South Whitehall Board of Commissioners over the incumbents' preferred candidate, Republican Chris Peischl.

Most unofficial election results remain the same in Northampton County, but one school board race has shifted after nearly all emergency ballots were counted Thursday.

A state representative is demanding Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure resign over the voting machine issues discovered on Election Day. Said McClure: 'I have absolutely no plan to resign.'

An error with the Northampton County voting machines led to thousands of voters across the region casting their ballot with emergency paper ballots on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023.

The Lehigh Valley saw voter turnout top 30% in Tuesday's municipal election, more than 10 points higher than local races saw a decade ago.

While moderate Republicans and Democrats prevailed in most races, two Moms for Liberty candidates won seats on the Nazareth Area school board in Northampton County.

The township appears to have voted all Democrats into three open seats on its council. Come 2026, the board will likely start adhering to term limits following unofficial results from a ballot question.

With a contentious presidential election on the horizon, Northampton County officials are working with their voting machine contractor to prevent errors like those in Tuesday's general election.

Check out this roundup of Lehigh Valley election races, where voters cast ballots for candidates at the county and local levels on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023.

Unofficial results show Democrats with decisive leads in both contested races for Northampton County Council late Tuesday, setting up a 6-3 Democratic majority come January.