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Northampton County Council adopts ordinance extending protections for election workers
Summary
After a public hearing with multiple testimonials about threats and harassment, Northampton County Council amended and adopted a local ordinance expanding protections for county election staff and volunteers beyond polling places, adding reporting requirements and directing distribution of the ordinance to local police departments. The measure passed unanimously.
Northampton County Council on May 21 adopted an ordinance affirming protections for election workers from threats, intimidation, harassment and violence, extending coverage beyond polling places to pre- and post-election activities and to county election staff and volunteers.
Supporters told the council the change is necessary to protect staff who administer modern elections over weeks, not just on election day. Joe Welsh, co-founder of the Lehigh Valley Justice Institute at United Way, recalled confronting a crowd outside the courthouse after 2020 and urged adoption. "They do their job under increasingly stressful conditions," Welsh said, asking the council to vote for protections that recognize that reality.
The ordinance sponsors said state election law protects certain in‑polling-place officials but leaves county election-division staff, temporary employees and volunteer canvassers without clear protection. Kristen Wolchanski of Action Together NEPA pointed to a 2025 Brennan Center survey she said showed widespread job‑related threats against local election officials and urged prompt adoption.
A letter read into the record from former Northampton County chief registrar Amy Cozzi described repeated threats during the 2020–21 period, including doxxing, threatening packages and an envelope with white powder that prompted an evacuation. "We were not politicians. We were county employees trying to count votes," the letter said.
Council debate focused on legal scope and enforcement. Some members asked whether the county could lawfully extend protections to poll watchers and whether local ordinances would be preempted by state law. The council solicitor explained that the ordinance was drafted to address gaps not covered by the state election code and noted enforcement would be left to local law enforcement or referral to the district attorney as appropriate.
Members approved a set of technical amendments that require agencies issuing summary citations to provide details to the county election division and require the council clerk to distribute copies of the ordinance to all police departments operating in Northampton County. The council then adopted the amended ordinance by roll-call vote, recorded as unanimous in favor.
The district attorney in the meeting said his office would investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute conduct under the crimes code even if referred under the ordinance, and county leaders said the measure was intended to provide an immediate local avenue for complaints and low-level summary enforcement while preserving criminal referrals where warranted.
The ordinance was introduced at the May 7 meeting and taken up in a public hearing May 21; council adopted the amended version and will deliver copies to local police as directed in the measure. No implementation timeline beyond distribution and reporting requirements was specified at the meeting.
