Elections Code section 17601
(a)
The following provisions shall apply to those elections where candidates for one or more of the following offices are voted upon: President, Vice President, United States Senator, and United States Representative.(b)
(1)The following data shall be kept by the elections official, on electronic media, including, but not limited to, a hard drive, solid-state drive, flash drive, memory card, or other digital storage device, stored and unaltered, for 22 months from the date of the election:(A)
All voting system electronic data.(B)
All ballot on demand system electronic data, if applicable.(C)
All adjudication electronic data.(D)
All remote accessible vote by mail system electronic data, if applicable.(E)
All electronic poll book electronic data, if applicable.(F)
HASH values taken from the voting technology devices, if applicable.(G)
All ballot images.(2)
The electronic media which holds the data described in subparagraphs (A) through (G) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall be stored in a sealed container.(c)
If a contest is not commenced within the 22-month period, or if a criminal prosecution involving fraudulent use, using the ballot tally system to mark or falsify ballots, or manipulation of the ballot tally system, is not commenced within the 22-month period, either of which may involve the vote count of the precinct from which voted ballots were received, the elections official shall have the backups destroyed.
Source:
Section 17601, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=ELEC§ionNum=17601. (updated Sep. 19, 2026; accessed Oct. 12, 2026).
