About this site
Down Ballot covers state and local news in North and South Carolina plus adjacent areas. On Fridays, we publish a weekly report of state and local news from nonprofit news outlets and other sources.
Down Ballot is an independent publication launched in 2024 by journalist Ben Ledbetter.
There are no paywalls on this site since access to information now is critical. This means your support is crucial. It takes time to read, edit and write.
Ben Ledbetter is a versatile, battle-tested journalist that has worked as a reporter and copy editor for outlets in rural and urban areas.
He worked for The (Sumter, S.C.) Item, the now-shuttered Loudoun Easterner in Ashburn, Va., and The (Lexington, N.C.) Dispatch.
As a freelance journalist, Ledbetter has written for the University of Texas Moody College of Communication, Carolina Public Press, The (Asheville, N.C.) Citizen-Times, The New Orleans Advocate/The Times-Picayune, The (Rock Hill, S.C.) Herald, The (Orangeburg, S.C.) Times & Democrat, The (Greensboro, N.C.) News & Record, The (Durham) Herald-Sun, The Denver Post, The Charlotte Observer, The (Wilmington, N.C.) Star-News.
Down Ballot has the best state and local government news. It’s edited by journalist Ben Ledbetter and he started the newsletter in 2024.
We cover state and local news in North and South Carolina plus adjacent areas.
On Fridays, we publish a weekly report of state and local news from nonprofit news outlets and other sources. It goes out to subscribers on Fridays at 5 am.
On rare occasions, there might be a column or other opinion piece.
