                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

LOCKING VOTING SYSTEMS AFTER ELECTION AND DELIVERING KEYS TO CLERK; PRINTED
RETURNS AS EVIDENCE (§ 24.2-659)

A. If the voting system is secured by the use of equipment keys, after the
officers of election lock and seal each machine, the equipment keys shall be
enclosed in an envelope that shall be sealed and have endorsed thereon a
certificate of an officer of election stating the election precinct, the number
of each machine, the number on the seal, and the number of the protective
counter, if one, on the machine. The sealed envelope shall be delivered by one
of the officers of the election to the clerk of the circuit court where the
election was held. The custodians of the voting equipment shall enclose and seal
in an envelope, properly endorsed, all other keys to all voting equipment in
their jurisdictions and deliver the envelope to the clerk of the circuit court
by noon on the day following the election.

B. If the voting systems are secured by the use of equipment keys or electronic
activation devices that are not specific to a particular machine, after the
officers of election lock and seal each machine, the equipment keys and
electronic activation devices shall be enclosed in an envelope that shall be
sealed and have endorsed thereon a certificate of an officer of election stating
the election precinct. The sealed envelope shall be delivered by one of the
officers of election to the clerk of the circuit court where the election was
held.

C. If the voting system is secured by removal of the data storage device used in
that election, the officers shall remove the data storage device and proceed to
lock and seal each machine. The data storage device shall be enclosed in an
envelope that shall be sealed and have endorsed thereon a certificate of an
officer of election stating the election precinct, the number of each machine,
the number on the seal, and the number of the protective counter, if one, on the
machine. The sealed envelope shall be delivered by one of the officers of
election to the clerk of the circuit court where the election was held. The
equipment keys used at the polls shall be sealed in a different envelope and
delivered to the clerk who shall release them to the general registrar upon
request or at the expiration of the time specified by subsection F.

D. If the voting system provides for the creation of a separate master
electronic back-up on a data storage device that combines the data for all of
the voting systems in a given precinct, that data storage device shall be
enclosed in an envelope that shall be sealed and have endorsed thereon a
certificate of an officer of election stating the name of the precinct. The
sealed envelope shall be delivered by one of the officers of election to the
clerk of the circuit court where the election was held. The data storage device
for the individual machines may remain sealed in its individual machine until
the expiration of the time specified by subsection F. The equipment keys and the
electronic activation devices used at the polls shall be sealed together in a
separate envelope and delivered to the clerk who shall release them to the
general registrar upon request or at the expiration of the time specified by
subsection F.

E. If the voting system is secured by removal of the data storage device used in
that election, and the only record of votes cast for any office or on any
question is saved on that data storage device and not on the machine itself, the
officers shall remove the data storage device and proceed to lock and seal each
machine. Each such machine shall remain locked and sealed until it is returned
to the site at which voting systems are stored in the locality. The data storage
device shall be enclosed in an envelope that shall be sealed and have endorsed
thereon a certificate of an officer of election stating the election precinct,
the number of each machine, the number on the seal, and the number of the
protective counter, if one, on the machine. The sealed envelope shall be
delivered by one of the officers of election to the clerk of the circuit court
where the election was held. The equipment keys used at the polls shall be
sealed in a different envelope and delivered to the general registrar no later
than noon on the day after the election.

F. The voting systems described in subsections A, B, C, and D shall remain
locked and sealed until the deadline to request a recount under Chapter 8
(&#xA7; 24.2-800 et seq.) has passed and, if any contest or recount is pending
thereafter, until it has been concluded. Such machines and any envelope
containing data storage devices shall be opened and all data examined only (i)
on the order of a court of competent jurisdiction or (ii) on the request of an
authorized representative of the State Board, or the electoral board or general
registrar at the direction of the State Board, in order to ensure the accuracy
of the returns. In the event that machines and data storage devices are examined
under clause (ii), each political party and each independent candidate on the
ballot, or each primary candidate, shall be entitled to have a representative
present during such examination. The representatives and observers lawfully
present shall be prohibited from interfering with the officers of election in
any way. The State Board, local electoral board, or general registrar shall
provide such parties and candidates reasonable advance notice of the
examination.
			When the required time has expired, the clerk of the circuit court shall
return all voting equipment keys and data storage devices to the general
registrar.

G. The local electoral board or general registrar may direct the officers of
election and custodians that any sealed equipment keys or data storage devices
that are otherwise required by the provisions of this section to be delivered to
the clerk of the circuit court shall instead be delivered to the principal
office of the general registrar no later than noon on the day following the
election. The general registrar shall secure and retain the sealed equipment
keys and any other electronic locking or activation devices in his office and
shall convey them to the clerk of the court by noon on the day following the
ascertainment of the results of the election by the electoral board.

H. The provisions of this section requiring the locking and sealing of voting
systems shall not apply to any ballot marking device and its data storage device
provided pursuant to &#xA7; 24.2-626.1, where the number of persons voting in
the election or the number of votes cast for any office or on any question are
not recorded by the ballot marking device.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 24-314; 1962, c. 230; 1966, c. 453; 1970, c. 462, §
24.1-224; 1974, c. 428; 1978, c. 778; 1985, c. 458; 1993, c. 641; 1995, c. 197;
2003, c. 1015; 2004, cc. 835, 993, 1010; 2006, c. 689; 2008, cc. 107, 385; 2014,
cc. 540, 576; 2016, cc. 18, 218, 464, 489, 492.