After firing director, SC election agency chooses new leader. Here’s who she is.

Jenny Wooten should lead the agency overseeing South Carolina’s elections, the state Election Commission unanimously decided Tuesday.

The agency’s top leaders were fired, and later arrested, in the last several months amid several ongoing investigations. Wooten then became interim director of the agency after former Executive Director Howard Knapp was fired. The state Senate now has to approve hiring her.

Three candidates, including Wooten, were interviewed by the Election Commission on Tuesday. All four members of the commission voted for Wooten.

The top election officials of Richland and Pickens counties, Travis Alexander and Amy Sams, were the other finalists, according to applications sent to The State.

Knapp was fired by the Election Commission on Sept. 17. The commission later offered up a laundry list of reasons for his ouster in October, including allegedly falsifying documents to the commission, creating a toxic work environment and misleading the commission on a contract.

Knapp was arrested in late October. Warrants from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division show he was charged with misconduct while in office, embezzlement and ethics violations. Former deputy director Paige Salonich was fired from the agency days after Knapp and later charged with wiretapping. She was arrested on the same day as Knapp.

Election Commission chairman Dennis Shedd complimented Wooten on her leadership while the agency underwent a tumultuous couple of months.

“I’ve been impressed with how you’ve handled yourself and the agency under very stressful circumstances,” Shedd said after Wooten accepted the job.

Before she worked as interim director, Wooten served as chief of staff and director of government affairs and policy of the Election Commission. Wooten said the Election Commission’s choice was an “honor.”

This story was originally published December 2, 2025 at 2:42 PM.