Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

Gavin Holihan took the oath of office Tuesday morning as Lehigh County's new district attorney. He said he'll divert resources away from penny-ante issues to focus on battling violent crime.

The 20-year-old is a youth director with Promise Neighborhoods of Lehigh Valley. She graduated from William Allen High School in 2021 and won election to the school board in the November general election.

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.

Two Democratic state lawmakers want to punish any Pennsylvania electoral college member who votes contrary to the popular vote in the presidential election.

With the election just around the corner, Lehigh Valley activists are ramping up their work. As WLVR’s Ben Stemrich reports, they gathered at a block party in Bethlehem over the weekend to talk strategy.

Lehigh County election officials say they are more prepared for an onslaught of mail-in ballots than they were in the spring. But where you’ll be able to drop off your ballot is still up in the air.

Proceedings are scheduled to begin Tuesday in an election lawsuit filed in Commonwealth Court by the Pennsylvania chapter of the NAACP.

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A Commonwealth Court judge heard nearly 11 hours of testimony Monday in a fast-tracked lawsuit seeking to give voters more time to…

Members of the local LGBTQ community say they are unhappy with a voter referendum that would put their civil rights on the ballot.

The Pennsylvania Department of State released a report on this year’s presidential primary over the weekend … that includes recommendations for the November 3 general election – and a request for swift legislative action.

With less than 100 days before the general election, Northampton County is already preparing for election day -- and tens of thousands of mail-in ballots.

The Lehigh County Board of Elections has found credible evidence that an Allentown judge of elections committed fraud and tampered with ballots during the primary on June 2nd.

Pennsylvania polls for the presidential primary closed Tuesday night, June 2. Counties were hit by a surge of mail-in votes this year. As WLVR’s Tyler Pratt reports, Northampton County ballots have been tallied, but Lehigh County is still counting.

The Associated Press has named Lisa Scheller the winner in the Republican primary race for the Lehigh Valley’s 7th congressional district. The GOP nominee will face incumbent Democrat Susan Wild for the seat in November.

Lehigh County sent out nearly 48-thousand mail-in ballots for this year’s primary election–more than election officials have ever tried to count on Election Day.