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Before Bob Good uses campaign donations to fund the 5th District recount this week, he has to ask supporters for permission. That was the ruling handed down on Thursday, July 25 by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). 

Now this comes up because on its own, the Good campaign doesn’t seem to have enough money to fund the recount. As of June 30, the last reporting period, Good’s campaign had $211,195 cash on hand. However, the operation also reported $68,230 in debts and loans still outstanding. And that caused a two-fold problem. First, because the recount could cost up to $150,000. Second, Good’s campaign officials admit they’ve burned through his primary election funds. 

“Good for Congress has expended nearly if not all of its Primary Election funding, but remains in possession of numerous contributions designated for the upcoming November General Election,” wrote David Dolan. He serves as Treasurer for the Good for Congress campaign. In a letter, Dolan asked the FEC for permission to use contributions earmarked for the November election for the Recount Fund instead. 

The Commission said yes, as long as the campaign asks permission first. 

“Yes, Good for Congress may seek permission from its general election contributors to redesignate their contributions from the general election to its recount fund, and then redesignate funds from those contributors who grant such permission, as proposed,” the Commission wrote in a July 25 response. 

So to be clear, that means Good’s campaign over the last few days has been contacting each and every donor who had already sent in money for the November election. They’ve agreed to let the donors know a refund is also available, if that option is preferred instead. 

Why does he need the money? 

Why does Bob Good need extra money? Looking at the cash on hand, that is more than enough to pay the outstanding debt. But in Virginia, in order to hold a recount, the challenger has to fund it if the margin of victory is more than 0.5%. Currently, State Sen. John McGuire has 31,583 votes to Good’s 31,209. Now if Good wins the recount, then that money will be refunded. It’s worth pointing out, however, that in U.S. history, out of 35 completed statewide recounts in the last 24 years, only three resulted in an overturned election. 

He needs to ask permission before moving the donations around because U.S. election law limits individual contributions to $3,300 per election. Candidates are also required to separate money designated for primary and general election contributions, to make sure nobody goes over that $3,300 limit. But a recount is enough of a grey area that the FEC allowed money to be moved to help cover the cost. 

So Good will have enough money to fund the recount. Interestingly enough, we now know why the expenses will run up to $150,000. In order to have his recount, Goochland County Circuit Court Chief Judge Claude Worrell requires Good to abide by a few rules.

First, Good must pay each of the recount team members in every 5th District county a $115 per diem. That’s to cover the work and other activities they’re missing to go through with the count. To be clear, this does not include registrars or the registrar’s staff in each case, as they are already paid by the respective counties. The judge also orders that Good and his campaign “shall supply coffee, water, a boxed lunch and snacks” for all recount team members in each county.

How does 5th district recount work? 

The 5th district recount will start this Thursday, Aug. 1, beginning at 7:30 a.m. Under Virginia law, a three-judge panel oversees the recount. The first judge is always the chief judge of the circuit court where the recount request was filed. Good’s attorneys filed their request on July 12 in Goochland County, so that means Worrell is one of the judges. The other two are appointed by Chief Justice Bernard Goodwyn of the Virginia Supreme Court. He’s chosen Judge Christopher Papile of Newport News and Judge Christopher Clemens of Salem to fill out the three-person panel.
Worrell is in charge of setting rules for the recount. Based on his order filed Monday, July 22, registrars in all 24 of the district’s localities will be recounting votes. First, the registrar’s office has been ordered to flag all ballots with overvotes, undervotes or write-ins. Those will all be hand-counted. The same goes for any ballot that was hand-counted on Election Day. Any ballots set aside or not accepted by the scanner, those also will be hand-counted. 

What if there’s a disagreement?

So what happens if a registrar’s staff can’t agree if a vote is valid during the recount? Then it goes to this three judge-panel, which will decide. And there will be no argument about the chain of custody. Under Worrell’s order, sheriff’s deputies from the respective counties will take all contested ballots at the end of the recount to the Goochland Courthouse. The three judges will go over each contested ballot and issue a decision. 

Each of the candidates is also allowed to have an observer in place to witness the recount in every county. That’s one person per group. This observer can sit behind the registrar’s staff or to the side. But they can’t interfere, they can’t touch any of the ballots. They’re only legally allowed to watch and take notes. If they have a question, it has to be directed to the person in charge of the recount, nobody else. Observers also can’t stop the recount or interrupt it in any way to ask their question. As for the registrar and their staff, they’re not allowed to block the view of the observer.