Virginia’s rights restoration process has delivered a political spectacle worthy of its own chew toy. An official letter bearing the state seal and Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s signature informed the owner of Biscuit Rigsby that the deceased dog’s civil rights had been restored.

In August, Spanberger made automatically restoring rights such as voting and jury service to 66,000 felons a priority. Her administration maintains that officials are reviewing each case, but Biscuit’s paperwork raises glaring questions about what that review actually involves.

Biscuit, a dog from Goochland, died five years ago. Nevertheless, the official notice indicated that she was free to register to vote and participate in jury service, two activities generally requiring the participant to be both human and alive.

The letter included the state seal and the governor’s signature. It purported to reflect an executive review of Biscuit’s supposed criminal case before her civil rights were restored.

Delegate Garrett confirms Biscuit Rigsby is a DOG. Yet this certificate claims the Executive reviewed Biscuit’s criminal case before restoring his civil rights.

First “Betty No Last Name.” Now Biscuit. It’s time for the Attorney General to open a criminal investigation. If he refuses to do so a Commonwealth attorney in the state needs to convene a special grand jury. — Tim Anderson (@AssocAnderson) October 30, 2026

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Biscuit was a beagle hound mix whose owner had no idea she could vote. He was even more surprised to discover that government paperwork apparently regarded his late pet as a felon, prompting his memorable assessment: “Biscuit was a good girl.”

Del. Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham, received the letter from the constituent who had owned Biscuit. Garrett is now calling for an investigation into how Spanberger’s administration managed to restore 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.

📷 You’ve heard about dead people getting their voting rights restored in Virginia. You haven’t heard this one. Biscuit Rigsby of Goochland died five years ago. Governor Spanberger just restored her voting rights anyway. There’s an official letter, the state seal, and the Governor’s signature. Biscuit was a beagle-hound mix. Her owner had no idea she could vote. He was even more surprised to learn she was a felon. His comment: “Biscuit was a good girl.” It’s funny, but it’s true, and it’s a serious problem days before one of the most important midterms of our lifetime.

— Tom Garrett (@GarrettInExile) October 30, 2026

Garrett’s objection centers on the process rather than the broader question of second chances. He said the certificate claims the executive reviewed Biscuit’s criminal case, even though Biscuit was a dog who had already been dead for half a decade.

The Biscuit episode follows a similar case involving a Chesapeake woman whose rights were restored even though officials apparently did not establish her surname. That recipient was identified as “Betty No Last Name,” adding another eyebrow raising entry to Virginia’s restoration paperwork.

Both Betty’s letter and Biscuit’s letter were signed by Spanberger and Secretary of the Commonwealth Candi Mundon-King. Observers said the signatures appeared to have been generated using an autopen rather than personally written.

The paperwork has prompted Garrett to seek more than an administrative explanation. He wants Virginia law enforcement officials to determine how a dead dog ended up receiving a certificate representing that her supposed criminal history had been reviewed.

“It’s time for the Attorney General to open a criminal investigation. If he refuses to do so a Commonwealth attorney in the state needs to convene a special grand jury.”

The timing adds political weight to an episode that would otherwise sound like satire. Virginia voters will decide in Tuesday’s midterm elections whether rights restoration should become automatic when an individual is released from incarceration.

That decision arrives as the state faces questions about whether its existing review system can reliably distinguish eligible people from incomplete names and deceased pets. Garrett described the matter as a serious problem in the days before what he called one of the most important midterm elections of voters’ lifetimes.

The episode may be funny on its surface, particularly given Biscuit’s owner insisting she was a good girl. But the official letter, state seal, signatures, and claimed review have left Virginia officials facing an uncomfortable question about how carefully this constitutional power is being exercised.