(1) Upon receipt of the election returns from the poll workers, the election officer shall:

1. (a) ensure that the poll workers have provided all of the ballots and election returns;
2. (b) inspect the ballots and election returns to ensure that they are sealed;
3. (c) for manual ballots, deposit and lock the ballots and election returns in a safe and secure place;

4. (d) for mechanical ballots:

   1. (i) count the ballots; and
   2. (ii) deposit and lock the ballots and election returns in a safe and secure place; and
5. (e) for bond elections, provide a copy of the election results to the board of canvassers of the local political subdivision that called the bond election.

(2) Each election officer shall:

1. (a) before 5 p.m. on the day after the date of the election, determine the number of provisional ballots cast within the election officer's jurisdiction and make that number available to the public;
2. (b) preserve ballots for 22 months after the election or until the time has expired during which the ballots could be used in an election contest;
3. (c) preserve all other official election returns for at least 22 months after an election; and
4. (d) after that time, destroy them without opening or examining them.

(3)

1. (a) The election officer shall package and retain all tabulating cards and other materials used in the programming of the automatic tabulating equipment.

2. (b) The election officer:

   1. (i) may access these tabulating cards and other materials;
   2. (ii) may make copies of these materials and make changes to the copies;
   3. (iii) may not alter or make changes to the materials themselves; and
   4. (iv) within 22 months after the election in which they were used, may dispose of those materials or retain them.

(4)

1. (a) If an election contest is begun within 12 months, the election officer shall, except as provided in Subsection (4)(c):

   1. (i) keep the ballots and election returns unopened and unaltered until the contest is complete; or
   2. (ii) surrender the ballots and election returns to the custody of the court having jurisdiction of the contest when ordered or subpoenaed to do so by that court.

2. (b) Except as provided in Subsection (4)(c), when all election contests arising from an election are complete, the election officer shall either:

   1. (i) retain the ballots and election returns until the time for preserving them under this section has run; or
   2. (ii) destroy the ballots and election returns remaining in the election officer's custody without opening or examining them if the time for preserving them under this section has run.

3. (c)

   1. (i) An auditor conducting an audit described in Section 36-12-15.2 may examine the ballots and election returns described in this Subsection (4).
   2. (ii) The lieutenant governor may examine the ballots and election returns described in this Subsection (4).

(5)

1. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the legislative auditor general:

   1. (i) may make and keep copies of ballots or election returns as part of a legislative audit; and
   2. (ii) may not examine, make copies, or keep copies, of a ballot in a manner that identifies a ballot with the voter who casts the ballot.
2. (b) A copy described in Subsection (5)(a) is not a record, and not subject to disclosure, under Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act.