                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

POLLBOOKS, STATEMENTS OF RESULTS, AND BALLOTS TO BE SEALED AND DELIVERED TO
CLERK OR GENERAL REGISTRAR (§ 24.2-668)

A. After ascertaining the results and before adjourning, the officers shall put
the pollbooks, the duplicate statements of results, and any printed inspection
and return sheets in the envelopes provided by the State Board. The officers
shall seal the envelopes and direct them to the clerk of the circuit court for
the county or city. The pollbooks, statements, and sheets thus sealed and
directed, the sealed counted ballots envelope or container, and the unused,
defaced, spoiled and set aside ballots properly accounted for, packaged and
sealed, shall be conveyed by one of the officers to be determined by lot, if
they cannot otherwise agree, to the clerk of court by noon on the day following
the election.
			The clerk shall retain custody of the pollbooks, printed ballots, and other
elections materials until the time has expired for initiating a recount,
contest, or other proceeding in which the pollbooks, printed ballots, and other
elections materials may be needed as evidence and there is no proceeding
pending. The clerk shall (i) secure all pollbooks, printed ballots and other
election materials in sealed boxes; (ii) place all of the sealed boxes in a
vault or room not open to the public or to anyone other than the clerk and his
staff; (iii) cause such vault or room to be securely locked except when access
is necessary for the clerk and his staff; and (iv) upon the initiation of a
recount, certify that these security measures have been taken in whatever form
is deemed appropriate by the chief judge.
			After that time the clerk shall deliver the pollbooks to the general
registrar who shall return the pollbooks or transfer a copy of the electronic
data to the State Board as directed by &#xA7; 24.2-114 for voting credit
purposes. After the pollbooks are returned by the State Board, the general
registrar shall retain the pollbooks in his principal office for two years from
the date of the election. The clerk shall retain the statement of results and
any printed inspection and return sheets for two years and may then destroy
them.

B. The local electoral board or general registrar may direct that the officers
of election, in lieu of conveying the materials to the clerk of the circuit
court as provided in subsection A, shall convey the materials to the principal
office of the general registrar on the night of the election or the morning
following the election as the board directs. The general registrar shall secure
and retain the materials in his office and shall convey to the clerk of the
court, by noon of the day following the ascertainment of the results of the
election by the electoral board, all of the election materials. The general
registrar shall retain for public inspection one copy of the statement of
results.

C. If an electronic pollbook is used, the data disc or cartridge containing the
electronic records of the election, or, alternately, a printed copy of the
pollbook records of those who voted, shall be transmitted, sealed and retained
as required by this section, and otherwise treated as the pollbook for that
election for all purposes subsequent to the election. Nothing in this title
shall be construed to require that the equipment or software used to produce the
electronic pollbook be sealed or retained along with the pollbook, provided that
the records for the election have been transferred or printed according to the
instructions of the State Board.

HISTORY: Code 1950, §§ 24-232, 24-267, 24-268, 24-270; 1970, c. 462, §§
24.1-143, 24.1-144; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 247; 1972, c. 620; 1973, c. 30; 1975, c.
515; 1978, c. 778; 1981, c. 425; 1992, c. 293; 1993, c. 641; 1995, c. 197; 1996,
c. 8; 1997, cc. 438, 456; 2002, c. 190; 2003, c. 1015; 2004, cc. 410, 835; 2007,
c. 285; 2016, cc. 18, 492; 2020, c. 294.