Lackawanna County Board of Elections 8-13-26

The Lackawanna County Board of Elections held a meeting on August 13, 2026, primarily to review a petition to amend the county's home rule charter by adding an ethics section prohibiting insider trading and prediction market bets by county elected officials and employees based on non-public information. The petition, which had the requisite number of signatures, was found timely filed and valid for placement on the ballot. Board members discussed legal concerns including potential preemption by state and federal laws, the broad scope of the amendment covering all county employees, and the feasibility of the proposed reporting requirements. Despite reservations about the amendment's wording and scope, the board voted to approve placing the question on the ballot, deferring substantive legal challenges to the courts. The meeting also addressed procedural matters related to ballot language publication for this and other local ballot questions.