SC election commission ousts executive director Howard Knapp

The state election commission fired Executive Director Howard Knapp from his post during a scheduled meeting Wednesday, but declined to immediately disclose why other than a desire for “new leadership.”

The removal did not have to do with the “conduct of any election in South Carolina,” chairman Dennis Shedd said in an emailed statement after the meeting.

After a nearly five-hour executive session with no lunch break Wednesday afternoon, the commission came back and voted to remove Knapp. The vote was 3-2, with Shedd joining board members Clifford Edler and Scott Moseley voting to remove Knapp.

Following the public meeting, staff members had a separate meeting where they were told about Knapp’s removal. Some staff appeared visibly surprised afterward, however, others seemed upset during the executive session before the vote to fire Knapp.

Jenny Wooten, the state election commission’s chief of staff, was named the interim director. Shedd directed Wooten to investigate the conduct of several staff members with managerial roles in the commission.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is currently investigating allegations of misconduct involving Knapp, the division confirmed Wednesday evening. The state Attorney General’s office requested the investigation in March 2024, and it is ongoing, according to SLED.

Knapp became the state’s chief election official in 2022 and he was confirmed by the state Senate for the role in 2023. He had other roles in the agency before becoming executive director. The typical term for an executive director is four years, and they can be reappointed.

Knapp has a salary of $150,000 annually, according to the South Carolina Department of Administration. Before joining the election commission in 2021, Knapp worked in the budget offices of the state’s Department of Social Services and the Department of Administration, according to his LinkedIn. He is a graduate of the The Citadel and the Ave Maria School of Law, a Catholic school in Florida, according to his social media.

Shedd did not say anything publicly about Knapp before or after the vote. He declined to answer questions following the meeting.

Federal government wants voter rolls, private data

The firing came as the state election commission grapples with how to satisfy the U.S. Justice Department’s request for voter rolls while protecting South Carolinians’ privacy.

The Justice Department asked for the sensitive information, including partial Social Security numbers, of South Carolina’s 3.3 million voters. The Election Commission had received a temporary restraining order to prevent it from sending the data. The restraining order was lifted last week by the state Supreme Court.

“We now have no restrictions on us working with the DOJ,” Shedd said during the meeting. “That’s what we are doing, trying to work with them.” He said the commission was waiting on further communication from the Department of Justice.

Shedd said the commission wanted to safeguard South Carolina residents’ constitutional right to privacy. However, Shedd did not detail what privacy protections would need to be ensured before the commission sent the data to the Justice Department.

This is a breaking news story and may be updated.

This story was originally published September 17, 2025 at 5:10 PM.