A recount is likely underway in Virginia’s 5th District; what does that process look like?

A week after the primaries, the results of the Republican nomination in the 5th Congressional District are still too close.

John McGuire’s current margin of victory over Bob Good is approximately 373 votes. After the election is certified, Good can request a recount. And if he’s not happy with that, he can have a three-judge panel hear an election contest. But Carl Tobias of the University of Richmond School of Law says it seems highly unlikely that a recount of ballots or even a contest will change the outcome of the primary.

“I think it’s an uphill battle for anyone who wants to challenge, because we can’t even think of an example where someone was able to grab victory from the jaws of defeat,” says Tobias.

Legal expert Rich Kelsey says it is extremely unlikely that a three-judge panel would reject the outcome of an election.

“You’re talking about invalidating at least 373 ballots so that a court can find that they can’t determine who the winner is,” Kelsey explains. “I don’t see how they do that because you’re talking about individual ballots, and here we’re actually looking at an allegation of an unspecified violation.”

For now, Good is raising concerns about fire alarms at polling places and a mailbox in Lynchburg, though it’s unclear what kind of evidence he might present in court if the election is challenged.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radiowas made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.