ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Earlier this month, Lehigh County Officials became aware that a clerical error resulted in the initial batch of mail ballots for the May 2026 primary being generated off of the county’s May 2025 active mail-in voter file. While the majority of ballots are not affected by this error, some voters did receive ineligible ballots – more information on those categories of voters is available below. County officials have taken swift action to correct the error and engage affected voters to ensure they understand how they can cast their ballot in the upcoming primary. The county will provide regular updates on this matter between now and Election Day.
“This error is on us, and we own it. This was an honest and undeniably human mistake, and we are moving quickly to engage all affected voters,” said Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel. “Every eligible voter is going to get the chance to cast their ballot and ensure their voice is heard. It’s also important to understand that Pennsylvania law has safeguards in place to ensure any ineligible ballots are quickly identified and rejected during the pre-canvass. We regret the confusion this error has caused voters, but our team is well-positioned to administer a smooth and secure election next week.”
“The vast majority of Lehigh County voters are not impacted by this error,” said Chief Clerk of Elections Michael Paston. “We’re committed to providing regular updates so that everyone – from voters to members of the media – understand both how eligible residents can vote, and how we administer this election. Once the primary is behind us, we’ll conduct a full audit of how this error occurred, and we’ll share out what we’ll do differently moving forward so it doesn’t happen again.”
The error impacted a limited number of mail ballots from the initial batch that was issued to voters. The majority of those mail ballots have no issues, but there are four categories of voters impacted:
- Category 1: Voters who changed their party registration in the past year.
- To address this error, the county has canceled the original ballot and voters were mailed their corrected ballot.
- Category 2: Voters who moved and did not initially receive a ballot at their current address.
- To address this error, voters received 2026 primary ballots to their current address.
- Category 3: Ballots issued to voters who requested a mail ballot in 2025 but have subsequently passed away.
- To address this error, these mail ballots have been canceled.
- Category 4: Ballots issued to voters who requested a mail ballot in the 2025 primary but did not request a mail ballot for the 2026 primary.
- To address this error, voters have been contacted with options for voting.
Safeguards already in place under Pennsylvania law will identify and reject any invalid ballot.
Today, the Board of Elections can provide this update:
| Final affected count: | [N] voters across all four categories
|
| Affected voters who have returned a mail ballot to be counted: | 4,131 |
| Total number of mail ballots returned countywide: | 4,442 |
The county’s dedicated voter hotline is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Election Day at 610-782-3194. You can find updated information at www.LehighCounty.org. If you believe you may have been affected and have not yet been contacted, call 610-782-3194.
We’ll provide another update on May 13th.
Information provided to TVL by:
HILLARY KLEINZ
