CA AB2249

Expands the list of election materials that county elections officials must retain to include paper cast vote records, precinct board forms, machine reports for ballot accounting, and One Percent Manual Tally forms and machine reports.

Maintains existing retention periods of 22 months for federal elections and 6 months for all other elections, with packages required to remain unopened and unaltered during these periods.

Requires elections officials to take all reasonable steps to prevent further damage to election materials if they are destroyed or damaged by natural disaster or unforeseeable circumstances before the retention period expires.

Allows elections officials to seek a writ of mandate from a court (naming the Secretary of State as respondent) to inspect the inside of damaged sealed packages if necessary to prevent further damage, with notification to the Secretary of State required beforehand.

Establishes that the retention requirements limit public access to certain election records to protect election integrity and directs state reimbursement to counties and school districts for any mandated costs.