N.Y. Election Law § 3-222: Preservation of ballots and records of voting machines

§ 3-222. Preservation of ballots and records of voting machines. 1.

Except as hereinafter provided, removable memory cards or other similar

electronic media shall remain sealed against reuse until such time as

the information stored on such media has been preserved in a manner

consistent with procedures developed and distributed by the state board

of elections. Provided, however, that the information stored on such

electronic media and all the data and figures therein may be examined

upon the order of any court or judge of competent jurisdiction or may be

examined at the direction of a committee of the senate or assembly to

investigate and report upon contested elections of members of the

legislature voted for by the use of voting machines utilizing such

electronic media and such data and such figures examined by such

committee in the presence of the officer having the custody of voting

machines and electronic media.

2. Voted ballots shall be preserved for two years after such election

and the packages thereof may be opened and the contents examined only

upon order of a court or judge of competent jurisdiction, or by

direction of such committee of the senate and assembly if the ballots

relate to the election under investigation by such committee, and at the

expiration of such time, such ballots may be disposed of at the

discretion of the officer or board having charge of them.

3. Except as hereinafter provided, packages of protested, void and

wholly blank ballots, open packages of unused ballots and all early

mail, absentee and military, special federal, special presidential and

emergency ballots and ballot envelopes, if any, opened or unopened,

shall be preserved for two years after the election. Sealed packages of

unused ballots shall be retained for four months, and may then be

destroyed, provided a certificate articulating the election district

identifying data and numbers of such ballots is filed with the balance

of ballots described in this section, for the balance of the two year

retention period. Except as hereinafter provided, boxes containing voted

paper ballots, if any shall be preserved inviolate for four months after

the election, or until one month before the next election occurring

within five months after a preceding election if such boxes are needed

for use at such next election and if the officer or board in charge of

such voted paper ballots is required by law to furnish ballot boxes

therefor. Provided, however, that such ballot boxes and such packages

may be opened, and their contents and the early mail, absentee and

military, special federal, special presidential and emergency ballots

and ballot envelopes may be examined, upon the order of any court or

justice of competent jurisdiction. Boxes and envelopes containing early

mail, absentee, military and emergency ballots voted at a general or

special election, for the office of member of the senate or assembly,

packages of void, protested and wholly blank ballots, unopened early

mail, absentee and military ballot envelopes and the packages of unused

ballots, in connection with such election, also may be opened, and their

contents and such envelopes also may be examined, by direction of a

committee of the senate or assembly to investigate and report on

contested elections of members of the legislature. Unless otherwise

ordered or directed by such a court, justice or committee, such boxes

shall be opened and their contents and such packages and the envelopes

containing voted ballots and ballot envelopes shall be destroyed, at the

expiration of the period during which they are required by the

provisions of this section to be preserved, except that instead of being

destroyed, they may be sold and the proceeds paid over in the manner

provided with respect to the sale of books, records and papers

pertaining to an election.

4. All records and documents pertaining to ballot label programming

and ballot label programming data for any election for any voting

machine of a type approved after September first, nineteen hundred

eighty-six and all records pertaining to the periodic maintenance

testing of any such programming and programming data or the testing of

any such machine in connection with any such election shall be preserved

for two years after such election.