§ 15551

(a) If any contest or criminal prosecution has been commenced before its destruction any document or record that is or will be subject to the preservation requirements in Section 17300 to Section 17306, inclusive, or any certified voting technology or electronic data or portion thereof, including source code, shall be subject to the order of the court in which the contest or criminal prosecution is pending and shall not be destroyed until after final determination of the contest or criminal prosecution.

(b) In the case of a congressional election contest, the elections official shall hold the ballots of that congressional district in custody subject to the inspection of any committee of the House of Representatives having in charge the investigation of the contest, until the final determination of the contest by the House of Representatives.

(c) In the case of a contest in the State Legislature, the elections official shall hold the ballots of the Senate or Assembly district in custody subject to the inspection of any committee of the Senate or Assembly having in charge the investigation of the contest until the final determination of the contest or the final adjournment of the session of the Legislature in which the contest is filed, whichever is the later.

(d) In no event, except as provided in Sections 15553 or 19230, shall any document that is or will be subject to the preservation requirements in Section 17300 to Section 17306, inclusive, or any certified voting technology or electronic data or portion thereof, including source code, or any other election-related material or equipment necessary for the conduct of an election, be taken from the custody of the elections official.

(e) For purposes of this section, “certified voting technology” and “electronic data” have the same meaning as defined in Section 17600.

(Amended by Stats. 2026, Ch. 341, Sec. 2. (SB 1418) Effective September 19, 2026.)