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Joseph “Conway” Belangia has been appointed Interim Director of the South Carolina Election Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, March 25, 2025 at the SCVotes headquarters in Downtown Columbia following the withdrawal of Jenny Wooten, who withdrew her name from consideration for the permanent director role after Senate leadership made clear she would not receive their confirmation.
Conway was appointed unanimously, with one board member absent.
Belangia is 72 years old and has served as the Greenville County Director of Voter Registrations and Elections since 1992. Prior to 34 years as Greenville’s election director, Belangia worked for the Division of Research and Statistical Services and eventually served as the Public Information Officer for the State Election Commission.
Conway Belangia was born in Charleston, grew up in St. Stephen, South Carolina, and now resides in Mauldin. He received his B.S. from the University of South Carolina. The day before his appointment, Belangia received the Order of the Palmetto.
The Lead Up
Wooten was appointed Interim Director in October 2025 after the SEC voted 3 to 2 to fire former Executive Director Howard “Howie” Knapp, who now faces eleven criminal charges including eight counts of using his official position for financial gain, one count of embezzlement of public funds, one count of misconduct in office, and one count of accessory after the fact. His former deputy, Paige Salonich, faces a wiretapping charge after allegedly planting a recording device in the room where commissioners voted to remove Knapp.
During her tenure, Wooten moved to reform the agency’s vendor relationships, particularly with Elections Systems and Software (ES&S), and signaled the SEC would pursue competitive bidding for an estimated $18 million pollbook contract, a departure from the agency’s longstanding sole source relationship with ES&S.
Her withdrawal came after Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey and Senator Chip Campsen reportedly worked to block her confirmation and install their preferred candidate. New SEC Chairman Robert Bolchoz, appointed following the resignation of Dennis Shedd, was described by FITSNews as taking direction from Massey rather than from Governor Henry McMaster, who appointed him.
What’s Next for the Election Commission
The SEC is still grappling with the fallout from the Master Lease deal Knapp orchestrated, which grew from an original quoted price of $24.5 million to a Commission approved $33 million, as well as the pending criminal charges against Knapp and Salonich and unresolved questions about the role of legislative staff and the Ways and Means Committee in facilitating the deal as we exclusively reported last week.
The media sat down with Belangia following his appointment to answer a few questions before he was ushered back into the office. I asked about his mindset towards transparency in leading the State Election Commission, especially considering the previous director’s “controversial” relationships with the media.
“I hope to be very available as much as I possibly can,” Belangia added, “it’s important that we have a good relationship with the news media, the counties, the legislature, the governor’s office, federal offices as necessary, but as much as we possibly can. I don’t know what the relationship was before with prior directors but I will establish my style fairly quickly.”
Considering the recent senatorial block of the previous interim director Jenny Wooten, I asked Belangia how he foresees his senate confirmation going. Conway stated that he has not had any contact with the legislature as his appointment has “happened fairly quickly.” While he mentioned he had senatorial friends, he expects a “grilling.”
Another reporter asked the new interim director on his perspective of the biggest challenges facing elections in South Carolina. Conway responded, “just the target that’s on the back of election officials and the distrust of a small group of people in the electorate that don’t like election officials, period. That’s a hump, but by and large in South Carolina, elections are viewed as being good, fair, proper, and we intend to keep it that way.”
When asked how he plans to rebuild trust in the state, Belangia responded, “It will be one step at a time.”
Palmetto State Watch Foundation will continue to monitor developments at the State Election Commission. If you have a tip, contact alaina@palmettostatewatchfoundation.com.