Cal. Elections Code § 17305

(a) The following provisions apply to those elections where candidates for one or more of the following offices are voted upon: President, Vice President, United States Senator, and United States Representative. (b) Upon the completion of the counting of the votes as provided in Article 4 (commencing with Section 15640) of Chapter 9 of Division 15, all items specified in subdivision (b) of Section 17301 shall be kept by the elections official for 22 months from the date of the election or so long thereafter as any contest involving the vote at the election remains undetermined. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the final disposition of all items specified in subdivision (b) of Section 17301 shall be determined by the elections official. (d) Sealed ballot containers shall not be opened unless the elections official determines it is necessary in a shredding or recycling process. This section shall not be construed to allow packages or containers to be opened except for purposes specified herein. The packages or containers shall otherwise remain unopened until the ballots and paper cast vote records are destroyed or recycled.