Spanberger’s Office Restores Dead Dog’s Voting Rights, Investigation Requested

A Southside Virginia lawmaker is calling for an investigation after a constituent received an official certificate of restoration of rights for his dog, Biscuit, a beagle mix from Goochland County who died about five years ago.

The discovery follows the “Betty No Last Name” controversy in Chesapeake — where an alleged convict without a last name had “her” rights restored — and raises new questions about the governor’s vetting process just days before voters decided to make the restoration of felons’ voting rights automatic via an Election Day ballot measure backed by Richmond Democrats.

Rep. Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham — who received the letter from the pet-owning constituent — is now calling for an investigation into how Gov. Abigail Spanberger could have restored voting and jury rights to a deceased pet.

DEM AG’S ELECTION CRUSADE AGAINST TRUMP TURNS TO DEAD FELON COMING HOME

Biscuit’s quote restoring their voting rights. (Office of District Attorney Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham.)

“It’s not about whether people who have served their time deserve a second chance. It’s about whether the Commonwealth is exercising any of the governor’s constitutional powers, even with the most basic level of oversight,” Garrett said.

“Biscuit was a dog. Biscuit has been dead for five years. Yet an official document with the governor’s signature indicates that the executive branch reviewed the details of Biscuit’s criminal case and determined that his rights should be restored. Virginians deserve an explanation of how this is possible.”

CALIFORNIA’S HIDDEN DESERT ANIMAL CEMETERY CONTAINS AN UNEXPECTED PART OF WHITE HOUSE HISTORY

Quote from Biscuit page 2. (Office of District Attorney Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham.)

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 puppy was a “good dog and is greatly missed.”

“To my knowledge, she has never been convicted of a crime and has never shown any interest in voting,” the owner said.

Fox News Digital has contacted Spanberger for comment.

A Spanberger spokesperson responded: “Of course, we have not restored a dog’s rights. We cannot release 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 ask for clarification on the error that 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 allowed her to be registered to vote. The owner said a sibling is currently incarcerated, but added the connection is moot because Spanberger’s stated efforts only involve released ex-convicts.

ELECTION DAY 2026: JOIN THE AMERICA CONVERSATION HERE!

Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger pushed her party to pass the ballot initiative. (Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post/Getty Images)

Garrett noted in a statement that the Spanberger administration said in July that Secretary of the Commonwealth Candi Mundon-King would “proactively identify Virginians who had lost their rights, confirm that these individuals were eligible, and restore their rights,” in her words.

Spanberger announced in August that the initial figure of 66,000 had grown to 100,000 people who have had their rights restored since the Democrat took office in January.

TREASURY SALUTES SUCCESSFUL ANTI-FRAUD PROCESS THAT REPORTED AND PREVENTED $99 MILLION PAYMENTS TO DEAD PEOPLE

Biscuit the dog is seen at her house. (Biscuit owner via VA Del. Tom Garrett’s office.)

“The administration has told Virginians that these individuals are being identified and their eligibility confirmed,” Garrett said in a statement, going on to call for an investigation into how a restoration certificate bearing Biscuit’s name was issued.

“The document itself states that the Executive Branch reviewed the details of each case. If a deceased pet passed this process as a convicted felon, then we need to know what was actually reviewed, what databases were used, what safeguards existed, and how many other erroneous restorations were issued.”

Fluvanna County’s attorney when not legislating, Garrett said the Commonwealth must launch an immediate independent audit of Spanberger’s rights restoration actions and disclose the underlying record that led to the identification of “Biscuit Rigsby” as a convicted felon, as well as what Spanberger’s office defines as “review of the details” of Biscuit’s case.

Any investigation must also identify how many certificates and citations were issued to deceased, nonexistent, or duplicate humans and require immediate preservation of relevant data.

WATCHDOG, GOP LEGISLATOR WARNS NY VOTER REGISTRATION SYSTEM LACKS KEY PROTECTIONS

Then-Rep. Tom Garrett, R-Va., now a Virginia state delegate, is seen leaving the U.S. Capitol. (Bill Clark/Getty Images)

He said in a statement that his questions are not partisan and that Virginians who support restoring voting rights to released felons should be outraged by Biscuit’s case.

“At what point do incompetence and malfeasance become criminal conduct?” Garrett added in a video posted to social media.

SUBSCRIBE TO RECEIVE THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

Gov. Abigail Spanberger, left; Biscuit the dog, it’s true. (Lyra Bordelon/Reuters; Biscuit owner via Del. Tom Garrett)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

With Virginians set to vote Tuesday on whether to make restoration of voting rights automatic upon release from prison, Garrett is demanding answers about the administration’s existing review process — including how a dog who died five years ago apparently made it out.