16-624

16-624. Disposition of official returns and
ballots

A. After the canvass has been completed, the officer in charge of elections shall
deposit the package or envelope containing the ballots in a secure facility managed by
the county treasurer, who shall keep it unopened and unaltered for twenty-four months for
elections for a federal office or for six months for all other elections, at which time
he shall destroy it without opening or examining the contents.

B. Irregular ballots shall be preserved for six months after the election and the
packages containing them may be opened and the contents examined only upon an order of
court. At the expiration of such time, the ballots may be disposed of in the discretion
of the officer or board having charge of them.

C. The officer in charge of elections shall produce the other packages or envelopes
before the board of supervisors when it is in session for the purpose of canvassing the
returns.

D. If a recount is ordered or a contest begun within six months, the county
treasurer may be ordered by the court to deliver to it the packages or envelopes
containing the ballots, and thereupon they shall be in the custody and control of the
court.