Fired SC elections director Howard Knapp, chief deputy arrested by SLED
Embattled former South Carolina elections director Howard Knapp and his former chief deputy have been arrested.
Knapp, 40, and former elections commission deputy director Paige Salonich, 41, were booked in at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Richland County. Court records indicate that they were arrested Friday morning.
Warrants released by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division 11 charges against the former elections director include misconduct while in office, embezzlement and ethics violations. Salonich was charged with wiretapping — allegedly hiding a recorder inside of the meeting room where members of the election commission’s board would make the decision to fire Knapp.
Knapp’s charges focus on his alleged misuse of state vehicles and gas cards, which prompted an investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division over a year ago.
Knapp is accused of misappropriating $5,482.74 in public funds by allegedly making unauthorized gas purchases for two state vehicles over an eight-month period from June 2023 to January 2024. Knapp and his wife allegedly made personal use of the vehicles, according to warrants.
The State Media Co. earlier revealed details of the investigation and the subsequent report submitted to the Attorney General’s Office.
Sources told The State that when Knapp was informed he was not in compliance with state law, he returned the vehicles and was allowed to repay the money.
Knapp was fired following a tumultuous, hours long executive session at the state elections commission Sept. 17. The day after his firing, SLED agents were seen at the election commission’s Columbia office.
At an election committee meeting on Oct. 15, Commission Chairman Dennis Shedd said that three state agencies – the Attorney General’s office, the Office of Inspector General and the State Law Enforcement Division — were reviewing Knapp’s conduct during his time in office.
Knapp misused agency funds for personal reasons and conspired with other management-level staff to falsify documentation, Shedd told the public. Under Knapp’s leadership, the commission office had also become a “toxic and perhaps hostile work environment,” Shedd said.
Salonich, who Shedd described as Knapp’s “very close friend and fellow employee,” was fired five days later. This followed allegations made in internal documents of an aggressive confrontation with her superiors and other staff, as well as claims, that she planted a voice-activated digital recording device inside the room where board members debated whether to fire Knapp on Sept. 17.
Knapp was also charged with being accessory to a felony for calling employees that night and the next day asking them to remove the recorder.
Shedd also accused Knapp of providing misleading information to the board on a contract for new machines ahead of the November 2024 election.
The Election Commission board insisted that Knapp said the over 3,000 new machines would cost $28 million, but the cost swelled to over $33 million after accounting for sales tax and interest on the loan, records show. But current interim director Jenny Wooten and general counsel Thomas Nicholson knew about the total cost, according to emails obtained by The State.
Knapp received a $75,000 bond. Salonich’s bond was set at $25,000. The case will be prosecuted by the attorney general’s office.
This is a breaking news story. Check back here for updates.
Reporter Chris Trainor contributed to this report
This story was originally published October 24, 2025 at 10:39 AM.