ACLU Sues SCVotes

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by WILL FOLKS

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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of South Carolina is suing the Palmetto State’s election commission (SCVotes) in – alleging it violated Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) laws in terminating its former executive director.

Furthermore, the organization’s lawsuit contends the firing of Howard “Howie” Knapp and his second-in-command, Paige Salonich, was retaliation for them opposing the orders of U.S. president Donald Trump.

The battle over South Carolina’s voter file began back in March of 2025 when Trump’s administration requested the names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and Social Security digits of more than 3.3 million registered voters in the Palmetto State — data the DOJ deemed essential in enforcing Trump’s March 25, 2025 executive order targeting “non-citizen voter registration.”

An initial court ruling prevented the state from releasing the list, but the S.C. supreme court intervened and struck down the lower court order – paving the way for the state to release the data. Despite this green light, negotiations between SCVotes’ officials and the feds dragged on for another six months – with several GOP legislative leaders weighing in against the feds.

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A deal was reached between SCVotes and DOJ in April of this year – seven months after Knapp and Salonich were terminated from their positions (here and here). Both have subsequently been criminally charged in connection with their alleged conduct at SCVotes. Among the allegations they are facing? Charges tied to a purportedly illegal wiretapping of an executive session of the SCVotes’ commission convened by its former chairman, judge Dennis Shedd.

Salonich is alleged to have placed a listening device in the commission’s meeting room, which Knapp is accused of attempting to retrieve. According to the office of attorney general Alan Wilson – which is prosecuting Knapp and Salonich – there is video evidence of Salonich placing the device in the room.

To hear the ACLU tell it, though, Knapp and Salonich are martyrs for electoral integrity.

According to the organization’s complaint (.pdf), Knapp “resisted the federal government’s demand for unfettered access to South Carolina voter data,” which in turn “provoked the ire of President Trump’s allies in South Carolina, including the Governor and some members of (SCVotes’ commission).”

As a result, Shedd allegedly urged the commission to “take adverse employment action against Knapp,” which was accomplished last September in what the ACLU – and Knapp’s attorney, Joe McCulloch – described as an unlawful and secretive hearing.

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“The hearing lasted several hours and included the interrogation of several witnesses,” the ACLU complaint noted, adding SCVotes allegedly “went to extraordinary lengths to ensure that the executive session was shielded from public scrutiny.”

The ACLU complaint asks the court to declare SCVotes in violation of FOIA, to release records related to its September 2025 meeting and to pay its attorneys’ costs.

Our view on all of this?

While we appreciate the work the ACLU does related to FOIA, it is abundantly clear from both the civil and criminal record that Knapp and Salonich were not terminated from their positions at SCVotes over anything related to Donald Trump, DOJ or South Carolina’s voting lists. They were fired owing to credible allegations of wasted tax dollars, fabricated public records and dishonest dealings with staff and commissioners – among other things.

And that’s before we get to the alleged wiretapping…

We believe this lawsuit amounts to little more than an attempt to rewrite history – an effort to paint Knapp and Salonich as some sort of principled advocates on behalf of the Palmetto State’s electoral independence. They may have indeed opposed Trump’s DOJ, but that is not why they lost their jobs.

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THE LAWSUIT…

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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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