Hidden recording device found in State Election Commission meeting room

A hidden recording device was found in the meeting room of the State Election Commission last week, sources familiar with the situation told The State newspaper.

The device was a voice-activated digital recorder, the sources said.

The sources said State Law Enforcement Division agents, who were at the Election’s Commission’s offices off Main Street in downtown Columbia last week, retreived the device.

The finding of the hidden recording device came around the same time last week as Commission Executive Director Howard Knapp was terminated by the agency’s board on Sept. 17.

Knapp, who made $150,000, was fired after a lengthy executive session by the commission’s board. The five-member board did not say why Knapp was fired except to say it was looking for “new leadership.” The vote to terminate Knapp was 3-2.

The agency’s second-highest paid employee, after Knapp, Paige Salonich, the deputy executive director, has submitted her resignation, sources said. She made $141,788.

Knapp and Salonich have both been removed from the Election Commission’s staff listing on the agency’s internet site as of Tuesday morning.

A SLED statement on Tuesday said that the Election Commission had requested SLED last Thursday, Sept. 18, to “investigate allegations of wiretapping,” allegations that involved Knapp and Salonich. The investigation is “active and ongoing,” SLED said.

It is not known whether the controversy concerning the hidden recorder and the employee upheavals is related to an ongoing legal dispute the Election Commission is having a request by the U.S. Justice Department for the commission to turn over voter data, including personally identifiable information such as drivers’ licenses, to Justice.

A hearing in the legal dispute is scheduled for Friday.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Reporter Lucy Valeski contributed.

This story was originally published September 23, 2025 at 11:19 AM.