In a stunning display of administrative ineptitude, Virginia's Democrat Governor Abigail Spanberger's office has been caught red-handed restoring voting rights to a deceased beagle-hound mix named Biscuit. The egregious error has ignited outrage and fueled serious questions about the integrity of the state's voter rolls, particularly as a ballot measure to automatically restore felons' voting rights looms.
Biscuit, a beloved canine from Goochland County, passed away approximately five years ago. Yet, her bewildered owner recently received an official certificate from the Governor's office, solemnly declaring Biscuit's voting and jury-service rights reinstated.
This latest farce follows the equally baffling 'Betty No Last Name' controversy in Chesapeake, where another purported convict, seemingly without a surname, also had her rights restored. These incidents cast a dark shadow over the Spanberger administration's vetting process, exposing a systemic failure just days before Virginians head to the polls to decide on a radical Election Day ballot measure that would make felon voting rights restoration automatic – a push heavily supported by Richmond Democrats.
Del. Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham, who received the constituent's astonishing letter, is now spearheading demands for an immediate investigation. "This is not a question of whether people who have served their sentences deserve a second chance," Garrett stated with conviction. "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."
The conservative lawmaker continued, laying bare the absurdity: "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, opting for anonymity to avoid the inevitable political backlash, confirmed the certificate's authenticity to Fox News Digital. The owner shared that the pup was a "good dog and is greatly missed," adding with incredulity, "To my knowledge, she was never convicted of a felony, nor did she ever show any interest in voting." The owner also clarified that Biscuit was never in the pound nor had any contact with state agencies that could have placed her on voting rolls.
When Fox News Digital sought comment, a spokesperson for Governor Spanberger offered a flimsy response: "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." This non-answer only deepened the mystery, and subsequent requests for clarification went unanswered – a telling silence.
The Spanberger administration had proudly announced 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." By August, Governor Spanberger touted that 100,000 individuals had received restored rights since she took office. The Biscuit debacle exposes this claim as either gross negligence or something far more sinister.
Garrett minced no words, demanding a full independent audit of Spanberger’s restoration-of-rights actions. He insists on the disclosure of the underlying record that led to "Biscuit Rigsby" being identified as a convicted felon, and a clear definition of what Spanberger’s office considers a "review of the particulars" of a case. Furthermore, any investigation must identify how many other certificates were issued to deceased, nonexistent, or duplicate individuals, and mandate the immediate preservation of all relevant data.
"If a deceased family pet made it through that 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," Garrett underscored. He emphasized that these are not partisan questions, asserting that even those who champion felon voting rights should be "outraged" by such administrative malfeasance. In a video posted to social media, Garrett escalated the stakes, asking pointedly, "At what point does rank incompetence and malfeasance become criminal conduct?"
As Virginians prepare to vote on a ballot initiative that would automatically restore voting rights upon release from incarceration, the case of 'felon' Biscuit serves as a stark warning. It lays bare the critical need for rigorous accountability and verifiable processes in election integrity. The America First movement champions secure and honest elections, and this administrative circus by the Spanberger administration is a direct affront to the public trust and the foundational principles of a free and fair electoral system.
