Clarendon County’s elections office is again without a permanent director after the Board of Voter Registration and Elections voted Monday night to terminate Robert Adams, less than seven months after he took over the position.
The board voted 7-1 to immediately terminate Adams following an executive session during its Aug. 31 regularly scheduled meeting. Board member Michael Streath cast the lone opposing vote. Streath had also voted against entering executive session and remained in the council chambers rather than joining the other board members for the closed-door discussion.
Vice Chairman Brian Magaw made the motion to terminate Adams, citing “dereliction of duty” and alleging Adams allowed unauthorized individuals who were neither employees nor approved poll managers or clerks to access secure areas, operate a county vehicle, serve as poll workers and program voting equipment.
The motion also stated Adams had continued to fail to follow board and Clarendon County policies and displayed what the board described as a “severe lack of planning, organizing, delegation, and time management.” Adams was directed to immediately return board property, including his key, cellphone and computer.
The vote came about a month after the board extended Adams’ probationary period by 90 days following a performance review. At its July 27 meeting, Magaw cited a “marginal performance appraisal and other performance concerns” in making the motion for the extension. That measure passed 6-1, with Streath opposed. The board also voted 6-1, again with Streath opposed, to withhold a pay increase Adams would have received after satisfactory completion of his probationary period.
Adams was hired earlier this year after the office had already experienced a series of leadership changes. The board selected him at its Jan. 26 meeting by a majority vote of 4-1, with one abstention, and he began work Feb. 16. Adams came to Clarendon County with nearly two decades of election administration experience, having worked in the Berkeley County Elections Office since the 2008 election cycle.
In a February interview with The Manning Times, Adams said he hoped his experience could help bring stability to an office that had experienced recent turnover. He described his leadership style as team-oriented and said communication between the director and board would be important.
“We’re all part of the same team,” Adams said at the time. “We have to decide what’s best for the office — who’s on the board, who’s in this chair — we still got to work together.”
His termination marks the second time in a little less than a year that the board has dismissed an executive director after a relatively short tenure.
Princess Lang was unanimously appointed in July 2025 after a lengthy vacancy in the position and began work Aug. 18. Lang, who previously spent more than 12 years in the Clarendon County Voter Registration Office, expressed similar concerns about the office’s leadership turnover. She acknowledged that Clarendon County had one of the highest director turnover rates in the state and said she hoped to provide stability and rebuild confidence through transparency and teamwork.
Just over a month after Lang began work, the board voted Sept. 29 to terminate her. Chairman Ed Gamble later told The Manning Times only that the board determined Lang “wasn’t the best person for the job.”
Monday’s meeting gave little indication publicly of what was to come before the executive session. During his director’s report, Adams discussed recent elections, state reimbursements, preparations for the Nov. 3 election, community outreach and the office’s continued need for poll workers. He said the office had participated in an outreach event at Harvin’s Haven and was working to arrange additional outreach opportunities with churches and schools.
Earlier in the meeting, a member of the public, Jacob Edwards, praised improvements he said he had observed in Clarendon County elections, including quicker check-ins, improved curbside voting and more efficient reporting of election results. He specifically credited both the board and Adams for the progress.
“The process in terms of the elections in Clarendon County — they’re not where I know everybody wants it to be, and maybe not where it should be,” Edwards said. “But I’m certainly thankful they’re not where they used to be.”
The board’s agenda listed the executive session for personnel matters, attorney-client privileged matters and election security. It specifically noted the board could discuss the appointment, discipline, demotion or release of an employee, findings from its attorney regarding personnel matters and security matters related to personnel and the election process.
After Adams’ termination, a board member proposed requiring the chairman, vice chairman and secretary to be present at the voter registration office until another director is found. Gamble questioned whether the board had authority to impose that requirement, and the motion died for lack of a second.
The board did not announce during the meeting who would oversee the office following Adams’ termination or how it plans to proceed with filling the director position.
This is an ongoing story. The Manning Times will provide updates as additional information becomes available.
