telephone numbers through which the public can reach them. • Contact local election administrators (registrars, county and town clerks, boards of election, etc.) and high-level state officials (the State Attorney General’s Office, Secretary of State) to enlist their support in detecting and reporting election abuses. These people are generally dedicated public servants who want to eliminate criminal election abuses. They are also the custodians of important records generated during the voting process. (b) Be aware of the importance of voting documentation The voting process generates voluminous documentary evidence. Federal law requires that all voting documentation relating to an election that includes a federal contest be retained for at least twenty-two months after the election. 52 U.S.C. § 20701. The 1993 NVRA extended this period to two years for voter registration records generated under the Act. 52 U.S.C § 20507(i). Because the federal retention periods are significantly longer than normally required by state law, it is important to contact all election administrators in the district at the beginning of a ballot fraud investigation to be certain that they are aware of these federal requirements. Voting documentation includes voter registration cards, absentee ballot applications, absentee ballot envelopes, tally sheets, poll lists, and ballots. These materials are particularly important to successful election crime investigations, since they contain information that helps identify fraudulent voting transactions and potential defendants. For example: • Most states require persons seeking to vote to provide personal information to election registrars, and to furnish a handwriting specimen for comparison with the voter’s signature on the registration form. These data can be 88