ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Lehigh County has a new Chief Clerk of Elections.
Michael Paston was confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
69 News reporter Rick Holmes spoke exclusively with Paston on the changes ahead of election day.
Michael Paston beat out at least 9 other candidates to become Lehigh County’s Chief Clerk of Elections.
Paston, of Upper Dublin Township in Montgomery County, stood out because of his county government experience, which he believes will be valuable in purple Lehigh County.
“You just do the job,” said Paston moments before his confirmation. “You make sure the elections run as smooth as possible and count the votes.”
Paston, an attorney and tax professional, has been First Deputy Clerk of Courts for Bucks County since 2020. In that role, he managed a 26-person independent office responsible for the criminal records of the court system, while developing and managing a multimillion-dollar budget. Paston served the same role in Montgomery County from 2013 to 2019.
Rick Holmes asked, “If we get to the primaries and there is a big voting machine breakdown, how do you handle that?”
“We contact the Election Board, the three people who are in charge, make sure they know it. And we have a solicitor as well, and we get their input and most importantly, bottom line is make sure everyone who wants to vote, gets to vote,” Paston responded.
Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel says it was important to him to find a new chief clerk before the Pa. primary on May 19th, but not to expect any changes before then.
“We will be running this business as usual there will be five drop boxes available throughout Lehigh County, including the 24/7 one here at the county government center. And we’ll be getting the mail-in ballots out shortly,” Siegel said.
Paston’s first day on the job is Monday.