5 minPolitics
Virginia lawmaker demands probe after dead dog Biscuit receives voting rights certificate
Del. Tom Garrett wants an investigation into how Gov. Abigail Spanberger's office issued a rights-restoration certificate for a beagle-hound mix that died about five years ago, days before a ballot measure on automatic restoration of felons' voting rights.
A Virginia state 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 who died about five years ago. Del. Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham, says the document, which bears the governor's signature, shows that the executive branch reviewed the case and decided the animal's voting and jury-service rights should be restored.
The case arrives days before Virginians vote on a ballot measure that would make restoration of felons' voting rights automatic upon release from incarceration. The measure is backed by Richmond Democrats. Garrett, who received the letter from the dog's owner, argues the episode raises serious questions about the vetting process that Spanberger's administration uses to approve restorations.
Biscuit's owner, who asked not to be identified to avoid political backlash, confirmed the letter's authenticity to Fox News Digital. In a statement to Garrett, the owner called the pup a « good dog and is greatly missed ». The owner said that, to the best of their knowledge, the dog was never convicted of a felony and never showed any interest in voting. The owner also said Biscuit was never sent to a pound or had any other contact with state authorities that could have led to being placed on voting rolls.
The owner acknowledged that a sibling is currently incarcerated but said that connection does not matter, because Spanberger's stated effort applies only to released former convicts. Fox News Digital reached out to the governor for comment and had not received an official response by publication time.
Garrett said the case follows a separate controversy in Chesapeake, where a purported convict with no surname, identified as « Betty No Last Name », had her rights restored. He said the Spanberger administration told Virginians in July that Secretary of the Commonwealth Candi Mundon-King would be proactively identifying Virginians who had lost their rights, confirming their eligibility and restoring those rights. Spanberger announced in August that the figure had reached 100,000 individuals who had received restoration since she took office in January, up from an initial figure of 66,000.
« 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. »
Garrett, who is also an attorney in Fluvanna County, called for an immediate independent audit of the restoration-of-rights actions. He asked the state to disclose the underlying record that led to the dog being identified as a convicted felon, what databases were used, what safeguards existed, and how many other certificates were issued to deceased, nonexistent or duplicate people. He also called for the preservation of relevant data. « The document itself represents that the executive reviewed the particulars of each case », he said. « If a deceased family pet made it through that process as a convicted felon, then we need to know what was actually reviewed ».
Garrett said his questions are not partisan and that Virginians who support restoring the voting rights of released felons should be troubled by the case. In a video posted to social media, he asked, « At what point does rank incompetence and malfeasance become criminal conduct? » As voters prepare to decide Tuesday whether restoration should become automatic, Garrett is pressing the administration to explain how a dog that died five years ago apparently cleared its review process.
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