A Virginia lawmaker says a dog that died five years ago was mailed a certificate, signed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger, saying her voting rights had been restored.
Story Highlights
- The certificate was made out to “Biscuit Rigsby,” a beagle-hound mix from Goochland County who died about five years ago.
- Del. Tom Garrett, a Republican state lawmaker, made the letter public and is calling for an independent audit before Election Day.
- The governor’s office says it did not restore a dog’s rights and that the record is tied to a real person.
- Other restoration letters have also gone to Virginians who had died, according to local reports.
What the Biscuit letter said and why it matters
On Friday, October 30, Del. Tom Garrett released a rights-restoration letter and certificate sent to one of his constituents in the name of “Biscuit Rigsby.” Garrett is a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Buckingham and a former congressman. The letter, dated September 23, said the governor had restored the holder’s right to vote and serve on a jury after a felony conviction. Biscuit was the family’s beagle-hound mix. She died about five years ago.
The letter came out of a state push to restore rights faster. In the summer, the administration said the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office would “proactively identify” Virginians who lost their right to vote, confirm they were eligible, and restore their rights. That means the state goes looking for people on its own instead of waiting for them to apply. Garrett says a certificate in a dead dog’s name exposes serious weaknesses in the governor’s review process.
The owner, who asked not to be named to avoid political backlash, confirmed the letter is real. “To my knowledge, she was never convicted of a felony, nor did she ever show any interest in voting,” the owner said. The owner also called Biscuit a “good dog” who “is greatly missed.”
How the Spanberger administration responded
The governor’s office denied the claim. “Of course we did not restore the rights of a dog,” a spokesperson said. The office said the record behind the certificate is “associated with a person with a date of birth and Social Security number,” but said it cannot share that person’s information. The office has not said how a certificate with the dog’s name reached Biscuit’s owner.
The administration has moved quickly on restorations. In July, the governor’s office said more than 66,000 formerly incarcerated Virginians had their voting rights restored since January. In August, it put the total at 100,000. Under the state’s rules, a person can have rights restored by the governor after a felony conviction once he is no longer in prison.
What this does and does not prove about elections
A restoration letter does not register anyone to vote, and it does not mean a ballot was cast in that name, according to local reports. So the Biscuit letter is not proof that anyone voted illegally. It is proof that the state mailed an official certificate with the wrong name on it.
It is also not the only one. Reports in October said restoration letters went to Virginians who had already died. One father said his daughter got a letter two years after her death. In Chesapeake, rights were reportedly restored to a person listed as “Betty No Last Name.” On Friday, October 9, Spanberger told reporters her administration was “looking into” whether rights were restored to people who had died, citing “a number of cases where that appears to be the case.” State law requires election officials to remove voters who have died, and the Department of Health sends the Department of Elections a weekly list of deaths to help keep the rolls clean.
What Garrett wants from the governor
Garrett is asking for an immediate independent audit of the governor’s restoration actions. He wants the state to release the record that led to Biscuit being listed as a convicted felon. He also wants the office to explain what its “review of the particulars” of each case actually involves.
He is asking how many certificates went to people who are dead, do not exist, or were listed twice. He wants to know which databases the state used and what safeguards were in place, and he wants the data kept so it can be checked. Garrett says his questions are not partisan. The timing matters: on Tuesday, November 3, Virginians vote on a ballot measure that would make voting-rights restoration automatic when a person is released from prison.
Sources:
foxnews.com, wric.com, wsls.com, washingtonexaminer.com, governor.virginia.gov, governor.virginia.gov, restore.virginia.gov
