A Southside Virginia lawmaker is demanding an investigation after a constituent received an official rights-restoration certificate for his dog, Biscuit, a beagle-hound mix from Goochland County that died about five years ago.
The discovery follows the “Betty No Last Name” controversy in Chesapeake — where a purported convict lacking a surname had “her” rights restored — and raises fresh questions about the governor’s vetting process just days before voters decide whether to make felons’ voting-rights restoration automatic via an Election Day ballot measure supported by Richmond Democrats.
Del. Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham — who received the letter from the constituent who owned the pet — is now calling for an investigation into how Gov. Abigail Spanberger could have restored voting and jury-service rights to a deceased animal.
“This is not a question of whether people who have served their sentences deserve a second chance. This is a question of whether the Commonwealth is exercising one of the Governor’s constitutional powers with even the most basic level of review,” Garrett said.
“Biscuit was a dog. Biscuit has been dead for five years. Yet an official document bearing the governor’s signature says the executive reviewed the particulars of Biscuit’s criminal case and determined her rights should be restored. Virginians deserve an explanation for how that is possible.”
Biscuit’s owner, who declined to be identified to avoid political backlash, confirmed the letter’s authenticity to Fox News Digital and told Garrett in a statement that the pup was a “good dog and is greatly missed.”
“To my knowledge, she was never convicted of a felony, nor did she ever show any interest in voting,” the owner said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger for comment.
A spokesperson for Spanberger replied, “Of course we did not restore the rights of a dog. We cannot disclose this individual’s information, but we can tell you that it is associated with a person with a date of birth and Social Security number.”
Fox News Digital followed up to seek clarification on what error may have occurred but did not receive a response.
The owner told Fox News Digital that Biscuit was never sent to the pound or had any other contact with Richmond that could have resulted in her being placed on the voting rolls.
The owner said a sibling is currently incarcerated but added that the connection is moot because Spanberger’s stated effort only involves released former convicts.
Garrett noted in a statement that the Spanberger administration said in July that Secretary of the Commonwealth Candi Mundon-King would be “proactively identifying Virginians who had lost their rights, confirming that those individuals were eligible, and restoring their rights,” in his words.
Spanberger said in August that the initial estimate of 66,000 had grown to 100,000 people whose voting rights were restored after the Democrat took office in January.
“The administration told Virginians that these individuals had been identified and their eligibility verified,” Garrett said in a statement. He called for an investigation into how a restoration certificate bearing Biscuit’s name was issued.
“The document itself indicates that the executive reviewed the details of every case. If a deceased family pet passed through that process as a convicted felon, we need to know what was reviewed, which databases were used, what safeguards were in place and how many other erroneous restorations were granted.”
Garrett, an attorney in Fluvanna County when he is not serving in the legislature, said Virginia must immediately conduct an independent audit of Spanberger’s restoration-of-rights actions. He also called for the release of the records behind the identification of “Biscuit Rigsby” as a convicted felon, including the details of what Spanberger’s office considers a “review of the particulars” in Biscuit’s case.
He said any investigation should determine how many certificates and citations were issued to deceased, nonexistent or duplicate individuals and require the immediate preservation of relevant data.
Garrett said his questions were not partisan and argued that Virginians who support restoring voting rights to released felons should be outraged by Biscuit’s case.
“At what point does rank incompetence and malfeasance become criminal conduct?” Garrett asked in a video posted on social media.
Virginians are set to vote Tuesday on whether voting rights should be restored automatically upon release from incarceration. Before that vote, Garrett is demanding answers about the administration’s current review process—including how a dog that died five years ago apparently passed through it.
