Section 3-222 - Preservation of ballots and records of voting machines1. 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.Amended by New York Laws 2023, ch. 481,Sec. 8, eff. 1/1/2024, op. to any general, primary, run-off primary, or special election held after 1/1/2024.