diff --git a/src/electionguard/__init__.py b/src/electionguard/__init__.py
index d3df433..81e0c42 100644
--- a/src/electionguard/__init__.py
+++ b/src/electionguard/__init__.py
@@ -211,6 +211,7 @@ from electionguard.elgamal import (
     hashed_elgamal_encrypt,
 )
 from electionguard.encrypt import (
+    ContestData,
     EncryptionDevice,
     EncryptionMediator,
     contest_from,
@@ -338,6 +339,9 @@ from electionguard.schnorr import (
     make_schnorr_proof,
 )
 from electionguard.serialize import (
+    PAD_INDICATOR_SIZE,
+    PaddedDataSize,
+    TruncationError,
     construct_path,
     from_file,
     from_file_wrapper,
@@ -345,6 +349,8 @@ from electionguard.serialize import (
     from_list_in_file_wrapper,
     from_raw,
     get_schema,
+    padded_decode,
+    padded_encode,
     to_file,
     to_raw,
 )
@@ -371,6 +377,9 @@ from electionguard.type import (
     VerifierId,
 )
 from electionguard.utils import (
+    BYTE_ENCODING,
+    BYTE_ORDER,
+    ContestErrorType,
     flatmap_optional,
     get_optional,
     get_or_else_optional,
@@ -384,6 +393,8 @@ from electionguard.utils import (
 
 __all__ = [
     "AnnotatedString",
+    "BYTE_ENCODING",
+    "BYTE_ORDER",
     "BackupVerificationState",
     "BallotBox",
     "BallotBoxState",
@@ -415,8 +426,10 @@ __all__ = [
     "Configuration",
     "ConstantChaumPedersenProof",
     "ContactInformation",
+    "ContestData",
     "ContestDescription",
     "ContestDescriptionWithPlaceholders",
+    "ContestErrorType",
     "ContestId",
     "CryptoHashCheckable",
     "CryptoHashable",
@@ -476,6 +489,8 @@ __all__ = [
     "NO_VOTE",
     "Nonces",
     "OrderedObjectBase",
+    "PAD_INDICATOR_SIZE",
+    "PaddedDataSize",
     "Party",
     "PlaintextBallot",
     "PlaintextBallotContest",
@@ -503,6 +518,7 @@ __all__ = [
     "SelectionId",
     "Singleton",
     "SubmittedBallot",
+    "TruncationError",
     "VerifierId",
     "VoteVariationType",
     "YES_VOTE",
@@ -654,6 +670,8 @@ __all__ = [
     "mult_q",
     "negate_q",
     "nonces",
+    "padded_decode",
+    "padded_encode",
     "partially_decrypt",
     "pow_p",
     "pow_q",
diff --git a/src/electionguard/encrypt.py b/src/electionguard/encrypt.py
index 3177377..a42df32 100644
--- a/src/electionguard/encrypt.py
+++ b/src/electionguard/encrypt.py
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 from datetime import datetime
-from dataclasses import dataclass
-from typing import List, Optional
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+from typing import Dict, List, Optional, Type, TypeVar
 from uuid import getnode
 
+
 from .ballot import (
     CiphertextBallot,
     CiphertextBallotContest,
@@ -18,6 +19,7 @@ from .ballot import (
 from .ballot_code import get_hash_for_device
 from .election import CiphertextElectionContext
 from .elgamal import ElGamalPublicKey, elgamal_encrypt
+from .serialize import PaddedDataSize, padded_decode, padded_encode
 from .group import ElementModQ, rand_q
 from .logs import log_info, log_warning
 from .manifest import (
@@ -27,7 +29,28 @@ from .manifest import (
     SelectionDescription,
 )
 from .nonces import Nonces
-from .utils import get_optional, get_or_else_optional_func
+from .type import SelectionId
+from .utils import get_optional, get_or_else_optional_func, ContestErrorType
+
+
+_T = TypeVar("_T", bound="ContestData")
+CONTEST_DATA_SIZE: PaddedDataSize = PaddedDataSize.Bytes_512
+
+
+@dataclass
+class ContestData:
+    """Contests errors and extended data from the selections on the contest."""
+
+    error: Optional[ContestErrorType] = field(default=None)
+    error_data: Optional[List[SelectionId]] = field(default=None)
+    write_ins: Optional[Dict[SelectionId, str]] = field(default=None)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_bytes(cls: Type[_T], data: bytes) -> _T:
+        return padded_decode(cls, data, CONTEST_DATA_SIZE)
+
+    def to_bytes(self) -> bytes:
+        return padded_encode(self, CONTEST_DATA_SIZE)
 
 
 @dataclass
diff --git a/src/electionguard/hash.py b/src/electionguard/hash.py
index 9ecc52b..3b0daf6 100644
--- a/src/electionguard/hash.py
+++ b/src/electionguard/hash.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ from typing import (
 )
 
 from .constants import get_small_prime
+from .utils import BYTE_ENCODING, BYTE_ORDER
 from .group import (
     ElementModPOrQ,
     ElementModQ,
@@ -68,7 +69,7 @@ def hash_elems(*a: CryptoHashableAll) -> ElementModQ:
     :return: A cryptographic hash of these elements, concatenated.
     """
     h = sha256()
-    h.update("|".encode("utf-8"))
+    h.update("|".encode(BYTE_ENCODING))
     for x in a:
         # We could just use str(x) for everything, but then we'd have a resulting string
         # that's a bit Python-specific, and we'd rather make it easier for other languages
@@ -95,6 +96,8 @@ def hash_elems(*a: CryptoHashableAll) -> ElementModQ:
         else:
             hash_me = str(x)
 
-        h.update((hash_me + "|").encode("utf-8"))
+        h.update((hash_me + "|").encode(BYTE_ENCODING))
 
-    return ElementModQ(int.from_bytes(h.digest(), byteorder="big") % get_small_prime())
+    return ElementModQ(
+        int.from_bytes(h.digest(), byteorder=BYTE_ORDER) % get_small_prime()
+    )
diff --git a/src/electionguard/serialize.py b/src/electionguard/serialize.py
index 91943bc..b9b3c4e 100644
--- a/src/electionguard/serialize.py
+++ b/src/electionguard/serialize.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 from datetime import datetime
+from enum import IntEnum
 from io import TextIOWrapper
 import json
 import os
@@ -7,26 +8,32 @@ from typing import Any, List, Type, TypeVar, Union
 
 from dacite import Config, from_dict
 from pydantic.json import pydantic_encoder
-from pydantic.tools import parse_raw_as, schema_json_of
+from pydantic.tools import schema_json_of, parse_raw_as
 
 from .big_integer import BigInteger
 from .ballot_box import BallotBoxState
-from .manifest import ElectionType, ReportingUnitType, VoteVariationType
 from .group import ElementModP, ElementModQ
+from .manifest import ElectionType, ReportingUnitType, VoteVariationType
 from .proof import ProofUsage
+from .utils import BYTE_ENCODING, BYTE_ORDER, ContestErrorType
+
+
+_PAD_BYTE = b"\x00"
+PAD_INDICATOR_SIZE = 2
 
 _T = TypeVar("_T")
 
 _indent = 2
-_encoding = "utf-8"
 _file_extension = "json"
 
 _config = Config(
     cast=[
         datetime,
         BigInteger,
+        ContestErrorType,
         ElementModP,
         ElementModQ,
+        ElectionType,
         BallotBoxState,
         ElectionType,
         ReportingUnitType,
@@ -37,6 +44,50 @@ _config = Config(
 )
 
 
+class PaddedDataSize(IntEnum):
+    """Define the sizes for padded data."""
+
+    Bytes_512 = 512 - PAD_INDICATOR_SIZE
+
+
+class TruncationError(ValueError):
+    """A specific truncation error to indicate when padded data is truncated."""
+
+
+def padded_encode(data: Any, size: PaddedDataSize) -> bytes:
+    return _add_padding(to_raw(data).encode(BYTE_ENCODING), size)
+
+
+def padded_decode(type_: Type[_T], padded_data: bytes, size: PaddedDataSize) -> _T:
+    return from_raw(type_, _remove_padding(padded_data, size))
+
+
+def _add_padding(
+    message: bytes, size: PaddedDataSize, allow_truncation: bool = False
+) -> bytes:
+    """Add padding to message in bytes."""
+    message_length = len(message)
+    if message_length > size:
+        if allow_truncation:
+            message_length = size
+        else:
+            raise TruncationError(
+                "Padded data exceeds allowed padded data size of {size}."
+            )
+    padding_length = size - message_length
+    leading_byte = padding_length.to_bytes(PAD_INDICATOR_SIZE, byteorder=BYTE_ORDER)
+    padded = leading_byte + message[:message_length] + _PAD_BYTE * padding_length
+    return padded
+
+
+def _remove_padding(padded: bytes, size: PaddedDataSize) -> bytes:
+    """Remove padding from padded message in bytes."""
+
+    padding_length = int.from_bytes(padded[:PAD_INDICATOR_SIZE], byteorder=BYTE_ORDER)
+    message_end = size + PAD_INDICATOR_SIZE - padding_length
+    return padded[PAD_INDICATOR_SIZE:message_end]
+
+
 def construct_path(
     target_file_name: str,
     target_path: str = "",
@@ -48,13 +99,15 @@ def construct_path(
     return os.path.join(target_path, target_file)
 
 
-def from_raw(type_: Type[_T], obj: Any) -> _T:
-    """Deserialize raw as type."""
+def from_raw(type_: Type[_T], raw: Union[str, bytes]) -> _T:
+    """Deserialize raw json string as type."""
 
-    return parse_raw_as(type_, obj)
+    if type_ is datetime:
+        return parse_raw_as(type_, raw)
+    return from_dict(type_, json.loads(raw), _config)
 
 
-def to_raw(data: Any) -> Any:
+def to_raw(data: Any) -> str:
     """Serialize data to raw json format."""
 
     return json.dumps(data, indent=_indent, default=pydantic_encoder)
@@ -70,7 +123,7 @@ def from_file_wrapper(type_: Type[_T], file: TextIOWrapper) -> _T:
 def from_file(type_: Type[_T], path: Union[str, Path]) -> _T:
     """Deserialize json file as type."""
 
-    with open(path, "r", encoding=_encoding) as json_file:
+    with open(path, "r", encoding=BYTE_ENCODING) as json_file:
         data = json.load(json_file)
     return from_dict(type_, data, _config)
 
@@ -78,7 +131,7 @@ def from_file(type_: Type[_T], path: Union[str, Path]) -> _T:
 def from_list_in_file(type_: Type[_T], path: Union[str, Path]) -> List[_T]:
     """Deserialize json file that has an array of certain type."""
 
-    with open(path, "r", encoding=_encoding) as json_file:
+    with open(path, "r", encoding=BYTE_ENCODING) as json_file:
         data = json.load(json_file)
         ls: List[_T] = []
         for item in data:
@@ -110,7 +163,7 @@ def to_file(
     with open(
         path,
         "w",
-        encoding=_encoding,
+        encoding=BYTE_ENCODING,
     ) as outfile:
         json.dump(data, outfile, indent=_indent, default=pydantic_encoder)
         return path
diff --git a/src/electionguard/utils.py b/src/electionguard/utils.py
index e2c9b8a..eb28ffa 100644
--- a/src/electionguard/utils.py
+++ b/src/electionguard/utils.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from enum import Enum
 from re import sub
 from typing import Callable, Optional, TypeVar
 from base64 import b16decode
@@ -6,6 +7,17 @@ from base64 import b16decode
 _T = TypeVar("_T")
 _U = TypeVar("_U")
 
+BYTE_ORDER = "big"
+BYTE_ENCODING = "utf-8"
+
+
+class ContestErrorType(Enum):
+    """Various errors that can occur on ballots contest after voting."""
+
+    NullVote = "nullvote"
+    UnderVote = "undervote"
+    OverVote = "overvote"
+
 
 def get_optional(optional: Optional[_T]) -> _T:
     """

diff --git a/tests/unit/test_encrypt.py b/tests/unit/test_encrypt.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c163877
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test_encrypt.py
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+from unittest import TestCase
+
+from electionguard.encrypt import ContestData, ContestErrorType
+from electionguard.serialize import TruncationError, to_raw
+
+
+class TestEncrypt(TestCase):
+    """Test encryption"""
+
+    def test_contest_data_conversion(self) -> None:
+        """Test contest data encoding to padded to bytes then decoding."""
+
+        # Arrange
+        error = ContestErrorType.OverVote
+        error_data = ["overvote-id-1", "overvote-id-2", "overvote-id-3"]
+        write_ins = {
+            "writein-id-1": "Teri Dactyl",
+            "writein-id-2": "Allie Grater",
+            "writein-id-3": "Anna Littlical",
+            "writein-id-4": "Polly Wannakrakouer",
+        }
+        overflow_error_data = ["overflow-id" * 50]
+
+        empty_contest_data = ContestData()
+        write_in_contest_data = ContestData(write_ins=write_ins)
+        overvote_contest_data = ContestData(error, error_data)
+        overvote_and_write_in_contest_data = ContestData(error, error_data, write_ins)
+        overflow_contest_data = ContestData(error, overflow_error_data, write_ins)
+
+        # Act & Assert
+        self._padding_cycle(empty_contest_data)
+        self._padding_cycle(write_in_contest_data)
+        self._padding_cycle(overvote_contest_data)
+        self._padding_cycle(overvote_and_write_in_contest_data)
+        self._padding_cycle(overflow_contest_data)
+
+    def _padding_cycle(self, data: ContestData) -> None:
+        """Run full cycle of padding and unpadding."""
+        EXPECTED_PADDED_LENGTH = 512
+
+        try:
+            padded = data.to_bytes()
+            unpadded = ContestData.from_bytes(padded)
+
+            self.assertEqual(EXPECTED_PADDED_LENGTH, len(padded))
+            self.assertEqual(data, unpadded)
+
+        except TruncationError:
+            # Validate JSON exceeds allowed length
+            json = to_raw(data)
+            self.assertLess(EXPECTED_PADDED_LENGTH, len(json))

✨ Contest Data and Encoding
### Is there an existing issue for this?

- [X] I have searched the existing issues

### Suggestion

Contest Data and Padding are a prerequisites for issues regarding #385 and secret sharing. This also should help center some of the encoding information to a single source. 

### Possible Implementation

_No response_

### Anything else?

_No response_
tests/unit/test_encrypt.py::TestEncrypt::test_contest_data_conversion