THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square A woman helps to complete voter registration paperwork at a polling location | The Center Square and Freepik Affects local – As North Carolina moved less than 12 weeks from mailing absentee ballots, the state’s total voter registrations rose another 5,325 to within less than 16,000 of 7.8 million. Trending consistent to the most recent nearly two decades, and particularly since the pandemic era, voter registrations are swelling the unaffilia

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square A sign directs voters to a polling location. Alan Wooten / The Center Square Affects local – For the third time in five weeks, voter registrations increased more in the unaffiliated bloc than overall in North Carolina. Saturday’s seven-day update from the State Board of Elections, just 15 weeks away from absentee ballots going into the mail for the Nov. 3 midterms, rose by 3,513 overall and 3,891 among those choosing independence. Republican

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square The North Carolina Legislative Building, home to the General Assembly, stands on Jones Street in Raleigh, N.C. Photo: Alan Wooten / The Center Square (The Center Square) – Stalled recovery in Hurricane Helene is blamed on “stifling bureaucracy utterly lacking in common sense and resourcefulness,” say seven Republican members of the North Carolina House of Representatives in a statement directed at first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. This

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent The school board forum will involve eight of the candidates, all republican, on Jan. 29, at The LeGrand Center. UPDATE: Jay Carpenter will not be attending as previously reported. Stephen Carroll Self will be attending now. Anyone interested in listening to the school board candidates’ personal stances on local education issues, and wanting to ask them questions, will have their chance next week. The Cleveland County GOP and Moms