Monday is Deadline to Register to Vote in May 17 Primary

Monday, April 18 is the deadline to register to vote in the May 17 primary, which features local races for seats on public school boards - the primary taxing body for Pennsylvania property owners. 

Lehigh and Northampton county Democrats and Republicans will also be choosing their candidates for municipal offices, county commissioner and, in some cases, magisterial district justice and county judge.

 Primary elections in Pennsylvania are “closed,” meaning only voters registered in one of the two major parties can cast their ballot for candidates. Voters registered as Independent can only vote on ballot questions or in the case of a special election held in conjunction with the primary.

 Pennsylvania residents have until the close of business on April 18 to register to vote, change their political party affiliation or notify voter registration of a change in address.

Lehigh County Voter Registration is located in the county government center, 17 S. Seventh St., Allentown and is open weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Phone: 610-782-3194

The Northampton County Election Office is located at 670 Wolf Ave., Easton and is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Phone: 610-559-3055.

Stay tuned to Patch for candidate profiles and interviews designed to help voters make an informed choice.

In South Whitehall, six people are running in the Republican primary for township commissioner, a four-year position. Three seats are open. Candidates are R.A. (Rene) Rodriquez, Glenn Block, Brian Hite, incumbent Dale Daubert, Heidi A. McMahon and David Bond. 

Six people are running for Parkland School board, a four-year position. Five seats are open. 

Four of the candidates have cross-filed, which means they will be on both the Republican and Democratic tickets: incumbents David M. Kennedy (Republican); Lisa Adams (Republican); Roberta Marcus (Republican); Robert Bold (Democrat). Roy Jef Reyburn (Republican) will be on the Republican ballot. Incumbent Debra Y. Evans (no party affiliation) will be on the Democratic ballot.

In the race for four, at-large Lehigh County Commissioner seats, eight Republicans and four Democrats are seeking their party's nomination.  The position is four years.

In the Republican primary, the candidates are Scott Ott, Norma A. Cusick, Brad Osborne, Vic Mazziotti, Lisa Scheller, Mike Welsh, Dean N. Browning and David C. Najarian.

In the Democratic primary for Lehigh County Commissioners, the candidates are Geoffrey S. Brace, Dennis L. Pearson, Gloria Hamm and Timothy S. Waitkus.

Send your questions for local candidates to Patch at maryellen.alu@patch.com.