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by WILL FOLKS
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South Carolina’s statewide elections agency has tapped its second interim director in just four months as it continues coping with drama tied to its disgraced former leader, Howie Knapp.
Former Greenville County elections director Conway Belangia is the latest choice to head up the S.C. State Election Commission (SCVotes) – an agency which has been the target of a hostile legislative takeover in the aftermath of the myriad of scandals involving Knapp.
That’s especially ironic considering state lawmakers were the ones who installed the Knapp in this role in the first place…
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News of Belangia’s hiring was first reported by Alaina Moore of Palmetto State Watch, a media outlet which has been at the forefront of efforts to hold this agency accountable.
To recap: Knapp and his second-in-command, Paige Salonich, were terminated from their positions at SCVotes last fall – and later criminally indicted – as part of an ongoing investigation by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED). Knapp’s conduct also remains under investigation by the S.C. Office of Inspector General (SCOIG).
In addition to facing a wide range of misconduct allegations, Knapp and Salonich also allegedly engaged in a torrid, taxpayer-subsidized workplace affair as they were running the agency into the ground.
Former SCVotes’ interim director Jenny Wooten – who will remain as Belangia’s chief of staff – earned plaudits for her leadership of the agency over the past seven months. Wooten was one of several SCVotes’ employees who were instrumental in exposing Knapp and Salonich’s misconduct – resulting in them being held accountable by the commission (and later, by law enforcement).
Wooten has been similarly instrumental in rebuilding public trust in the aftermath of this ongoing scandal.
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As Moore reported, Wooten “moved to reform the agency’s vendor relationships” and made it clear SCVotes would pursue competitive bidding on contracts previously sole-sourced to Omaha, Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software (ES&S). This company – which had close ties to Knapp – was the recipient of a controversial $33 million contract approved by the former director for the purchase of approximately 3,000 DS300 scanner/tabulator machines.
That price tag was $8.5 million higher than the “original quoted price,” per Moore.
Knapp’s dealings related to this contract are reportedly part of the ongoing SLED and SCOIG investigations.
Belangia takes the reins of the agency at a critical juncture. In addition to suffering through scandals which have eroded the public’s trust, SCVotes is in the midst of a lingering battle with Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the release of the Palmetto State’s voter database.
This dispute, in fact, is what reportedly prompted Senate majority leader Shane Massey and state senator Chip Campsen – two never Trumpers – to intervene in the management of this ostensibly “independent” agency.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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