PICKENS — Just less than two months before South Carolina’s crucial Republican primary election, the entire Pickens County Board of Voter Registration and Elections and the office’s staff have resigned in what county administrator Ken Roper said he fears is a “coordinated effort.”

In early March, county election director Rodney Allen submitted his resignation, which was effective on Tuesday. Allen’s resignation letter came just two days after longtime election board member June Bowers resigned her position.

County officials said two other election staff members indicated they would leave at the same time as Allen’s resignation.

“While I was not involved in any way with the decisions that led to Mr. Allen’s resignation, I was very disappointed in the operations of that office, particularly in the way they treated their volunteer poll workers,” Roper said. “Pickens County has invested a great deal of money in the voter registration office over the last several years, including staff salaries and expanding and remodeling their office suite. The taxpayers deserve good service in return for their investment.”

Although Allen’s resignation was expected on Tuesday, Roper said the county received a collective resignation letter signed by each of the election board members dated Tuesday to become effective the same day.

Two county employees have been temporarily reassigned to work in the voter registration office until the vacant positions are filled.

“My fear is that this was a coordinated effort between the board, the director and his staff to leave us in a lurch during the middle of an election cycle and a pandemic, so I thought it was necessary to take action to keep the office open for the good of the public,” Roper said.

In addition to assigning County employees to man the office, Roper said he has reached out to the state elections director for technical assistance and has been in communication with members of the Pickens County Legislative Delegation to have all three jobs posted.

Hiring a director is a priority to ensure the successful execution of the June primaries, he said.