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,  voting  machines  shall  remain  locked  against  voting for a period of thirty days or until fifteen days before  the next election, if such machines are needed  for  use  at  such  next  election.  Provided  however  that  a  machine  may  be  unlocked  if  a  discrepancy discovered in the recanvass of voting machines  required  by  this  chapter  makes it necessary to examine the machine to determine if  it has malfunctioned and provided further that a machine may  be  opened  and  all  the  data  and  figures therein examined upon the order of any  court or judge of competent jurisdiction or may be opened  by  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  such  machine  and  such  data  and  such  figures  examined by such  committee in the presence of the officer  having  the  custody  of  such  machine.    2.  Write-in  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, packages of unused ballots and  all  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.  Except  as  hereinafter  provided,  boxes  containing  voted  paper  ballots  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  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  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 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.  The  results  of  the annual test of each voting machine of a type  approved after September first, nineteen hundred  eighty-six,  which  is  required by this chapter, shall be preserved for two years.    5.  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 hundredeighty-six and all  records  pertaining  to  the  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.