Northampton County's election results are now official. Results were certified yesterday by the Elections Commission.
Registrar Chris Commini said 40,558 votes were cast, including 21,916 election day votes and 86 provisional ballots counted of 106 cast. Though turnout overall is just 17.9%, Commini noted that this was an election in which only Democrats and Republicans could vote, and that the turnout among those voters was 22%.
How did it break down by party? 15,489 Republicans and 25,099 Democrats voted.
The Mail-in Ballot (MIB) return rate was 75%.
Following the canvass (official count) results were audited and the county passed without issue.
There will be a casting of lots at 10 am Friday for ballot position in races involving several candidates.
Commini explained that consistent with what state law allows, MIBs are precanvassed starting at 7 am election day. Throughout the day, more MIBs come in from the post office and drop boxes. If an envelope fails to scan, it is hand-scanned. This happened to one Bethlehem voter whose vote was counted.
Lehigh University has expressed a willingness to host a ballot-by-demand office several days a week prior to the election, and the county administration sought input from the elections commission. Member Margie DeRenzis moved to pursue that opportunity. "I think it makes it more likely that students will vote," she argued. "We want everyone's voices heard." Chair Sharon Gavin-Levy said that the Fowler Center should be asked to host it because parking is better. Currently, the only place to vote on demand is at the elections office in Easton.
"Why are we coddling college students?" asked member Julia Geissinger.
Eventually, Republican members argued for an additional ballot by demand location in the northern tier as well as south side Bethlehem.
A vote on requesting the county to pursue opportunities for on-demand voting in south Bethlehem and the northern tier passed by a 3-2 vote. It passed in a party-line vote. Democrats Sharon Gavin-Levy, Margie DeRenzis and Daniel Lopresti voted yes. Republicans Julia Geissinger and Scott Hough voted No.
10 comments:
College students are getting dumber and dumber. Enabling their stupidity is not compassionate, caring, or good for democracy. They routinely sign petitions to ban women's suffrage and dihydrogen oxide because those things sound so sinister. The future is depressing.
I’d encourage the readers to watch the video of the meeting posted on YouTube to get the complete picture of what actually happened at the commission meeting. The R’s voted against the proposal after the administration and the D’s refused to provide requested data and a plan of action for review and approval. This was another “just vote for it and then we will see whats in it”situation. The timing of pushing this through seems designed to help the D’s in the near elections.
Sure they are.
Democrats always looking for a little extra edge lol.
The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers. -- Socrates
I'd add that the young people of today, like every generation, learn the things they need to survive and prosper in their own time, just like we did.
And they're also getting indoctrinated. Many of my friends kids came back unrecognizable!
Is there a list of the final candidates for November?
Off topic your boy Lamont seems to be a little defensive about the Gracedale retention bonus money.
https://www.lehighvalleynews.com/northampton-county/over-half-of-5m-for-gracedale-retention-bonuses-went-to-operating-expenses-audit-finds?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-news-nl&pnespid=t_k4US5ZPaFFxaPapSW2DsmR7h2gCZd4KPbtxOhjrBxmza6f0yhcqfJQ4nvITOQldT.p1pJ2pw
I agree with Anonymous at 9:24. Everyone should watch the June 3, 2025 meeting of the Northampton County Election Commission of which I am a member. As an appointed member of this body, it is my obligation to make voting fair, secure and convenient in order to maximize the opportunity for every qualified voter to make their voice heard.
Here are the facts supporting BOTH of my motions to move forward with the creation of additional election satellite offices for on-demand voting.
Over-the-counter voting, also called on-demand voting, is conducted in all 67 counties of PA.
Five counties in PA currently have between 3 and 10 satellite locations for over-the-counter voting.
During the 2024 Presidential Election, 7,000 (as many as 1,000 voters/day) people chose to vote on demand at our already crowded and cramped county election office. People waited in long lines to access this opportunity at the only possible location.
On Election Day, November 24, 2024, the longest lines and longest waits were at the Banana Factory polling location on Bethlehem’s South Side, which was the location closest to Lehigh University. There were many complaints from local residents, including students and elderly voters, and several voters reported leaving the polling location due to other obligations, thus suppressing their votes. Voters were pressing the County for solutions.
In response, at our November 29, 2024 meeting, County Executive Lamont McClure proposed a satellite on-demand location on Bethlehem’s South Side at Lehigh University.
Bethlehem is not only the most populated city in Northampton County (55,639 people reside in the portion of Bethlehem located in Northampton County. Easton is second with 27,216 residents), it is the 5th most populous city in the state of PA.
My initial motion to move forward with the Administration’s recommendation for the satellite office did not receive a second and a discussion ensued, which included an executive session requested by Mr. Hough. Following the executive session, Mr. Hough made a suggestion to add not one but two satellite offices, one in Bethlehem and one in the northern area of the county, to which the county administration agreed. His motion for more information and an additional meeting did not pass as the majority of the commission did not find a need for further information to move forward with the plan to make voting more accessible to residents of Northampton County. In the event that the locations aren’t utilized, they can be eliminated. My motion to proceed with the effort to establish two new satellite locations passed, having everything to do with optimizing opportunities for voting and nothing to do with party politics.
Regarding the assertion that we are “coddling college students” I have two observations. Don’t we want to help establish the habit of voting among our youngest citizens? Who are we “coddling” in the northern tier of the county?
Thank you Margie!
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