LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) — Lackawanna County voters will have a chance to decide whether new ethics requirements, including restrictions on insider trading by local elected officials, should become law.
Action Together NEPA announced that the Lackawanna County Board of Elections has certified a citizen-initiated ballot question for the November 2026 general election.
The organization said the measure reached the ballot following a petition campaign that collected more than 40,000 signatures from Lackawanna County residents, including Democrats, Republicans and independent voters.
If approved by voters, the proposal would prohibit elected officials from making individual stock trades based on nonpublic information and require annual ethics reporting for county leadership, according to Action Together NEPA.
“This is a victory for every voter who signed a petition, talked to a neighbor, and refused to accept that corruption is just part of the job,” Action Together NEPA Executive Director Alisha Hoffman-Mirilovich said.
Hoffman-Mirilovich said the organization will now focus on encouraging voters to support the ballot question in November.
The group characterized the measure as an effort to strengthen accountability and prevent elected officials from using information obtained through their government positions for personal financial benefit.
Jennifer Graham Partyka, a registered nurse and Lackawanna County resident involved with the initiative, said supporters began the campaign to challenge existing ethical standards for public officials.
“This November, we aren’t just electing officials—we are choosing to demand ethical standards that can no longer be ignored,” Partyka said.
Certification by the Board of Elections means voters will have the final say on whether the proposed requirements take effect.
Additional details about the ballot question’s exact wording and how its provisions would be enforced were not included in Action Together NEPA’s announcement.