 Under Virginia law, recounts can be triggered when the candidate who lost was defeated by a margin of up to 1%. The state covers expenses of the recount if the margin is up to a half a percentage point. Otherwise, the contesting candidate foots the bill for the recount. The difference between the two candidates was 0.6%, meaning Goode would have to foot the expenses for the recount in whichever jurisdiction he requested from specifically. Bernie Bennett, Washington. More on these stories at townhall.com. Hi, this is Rhett Rasmussen of besthotgrill.com.