State election officials retain 2024 ballots after DOJ notice

State election officials are taking steps to retain ballots and other records from the 2024 election after the Justice Department issued litigation-hold notices. 

The notice stems from the Trump administration's effort to access state voter rolls following multiple rulings against it, the Washington Examiner reported. 

In a Sept. 4 email, Nevada officials asked counties to retain the records indefinitely, and New Hampshire told municipalities to maintain 2024 ballots until further notice. 

Both states are among the 30 that the DOJ sued this year seeking access to state voter rolls, unredacted voter registration lists and other records. The DOJ says it needs them to assess whether states maintain accurate rolls and whether any ineligible registrations need to be cross-checked for compliance with federal voting guidelines.

Federal law requires election records be held for 22 months. That period for the Nov. 5, 2024, election came to an end on Sept. 5.