Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

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.

Fresh off his victory in an uncontested primary, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey visited the Hispanic Center of the Lehigh Valley Tuesday to highlight his efforts and criticize Republican challenger David McCormick.

Northampton County officials celebrated an issue-free election Wednesday, after voting machine troubles last year. Already, the November general election looms large.

The first-term senator laid out his opposition to data centers and answered some of the “almost 100 questions” he said he received during a virtual town hall Wednesday night.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie campaigned against forever wars in 2024 but has voted to give President Donald Trump leeway in the conflict against Iran.

With Memorial Day behind them, lawmakers are heading toward summer recess amid questions about what, if anything, they will be able to accomplish before voters return their attention to the fall elections.

Whoever is appointed would hold office for about a year and a half, as Allentown’s code stipulates an interim controller serves until the next municipal election.

Pennsylvania lawmakers moved closer to establishing a statewide restriction on student cell phone use in public schools, as the state House passed legislation requiring "bell-to-bell" phone bans during the school day.

Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley and Bradley Merkl-Gump, a school board director in Bucks County, swept their home counties, according to unofficial precinct-level results.

On this week's Lehigh Valley Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick break down the 2026 primary election results.

Firefighter union boss Bob Brooks swept each municipality in Lehigh County and nearly each one in Northampton County en route to his nearly 20-point victory in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District's Democratic primary Tuesday.

Jack Pletz, 24 and his father, Matthew Pletz, have been arrested. Seventeen explosive devices were found inside their pickup truck.

The district, now represented by Sen. Jarrett Coleman, a first-term Republican, covers much of Lehigh County's rural and suburban communities and the northern part of Bucks County.

Incumbent Gary Day ran unopposed in the Republican primary as he seeks his second consecutive term and ninth term overall representing the region in Harrisburg.

The 22nd District has been a hotbed of political drama since Josh Siegel resigned from the seat in December to become Lehigh County executive.