THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent A sign outside the CC Board of Elections, pointing the way to the main entrance. Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent As the Friday Dec. 19 deadline looms for candidates to file for the 2026 primaries, the Cleveland County Commissioner race is crowded with seven hopefuls running for two seats, and a board of education race that so far has five republicans one democrat, and an unaffiliated candidate all running for four chairs. On t

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square October municipal elections will hold canvasses Tuesday, early voting for those in November begins Thursday, and North Carolinians continue to trend toward independence of the major parties. Fifty-five weeks away from the 2026 midterms, the unaffiliated bloc gained 4,220 voters in the most recent seven-day period measured ending on Saturday. Republicans added 912 and Democrats lost seven. The more than 7.5 million registered to vote are spli