The Civil Rights Act of 1960 requires election officials to preserve election-related materials for 22 months following a federal election.
Posted by The Lawfare Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 92%
The Lawfare PodcastSep 14, 2026
Multiple primary and tier1 sources, including the statute text itself (Sec. 301 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960), the DOJ, CRS, and the EAC, confirm that election officials must retain and preserve federal election records for 22 months following a federal election. The claim faithfully reflects the post's passage, which makes the same assertion, so it is graded normally.
What was said
… And so that was a little weird. But the, the substantive request slash demand in the letter is that they preserve, there's, there's this, the Civil Rights Act of 1960 requires election officials to preserve election related materials for 22 months following a federal election, and so they've already been, the rather that those 22 months since the 2024 presidential election and other federal elections on that date, uh, expires right around now. …
The Lawfare Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Section 301 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 requires every officer of election to retain and preserve, for twenty-two months from a general, special, or primary federal election, records relating to voting applications, registration, and other acts requisite to voting.[2]
Supports. The DOJ's own guidance states that Section 301 requires state and local election officials to retain and preserve records for 22 months after federal elections, now codified at 52 U.S.C. §§ 20701-20706.[3]
Supports. The Congressional Research Service and the EAC both confirm the 22-month retention requirement for election officials under the Civil Rights Act of 1960 and its codified statute.[4][5]
Context. PolitiFact notes the 22-month rule is rooted in a civil rights-era law and is practically used to free storage space, and that the requirement applies to federal races including for president.[1]
Sources
5 sources: 1 fact-checker, 4 primary
- 1There is no way to decertify ballots cast in 2020 electionpolitifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Civil Rights Act, 1960senate.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 3Federal Law Constraints on Post-Election "Audits"justice.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4Federal Investigations and Seizures of Voting Recordscongress.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 5Overview of Federal Election Lawseac.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
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