You know that feeling that parents get when their kids are in another part of the house "playing" and are being entirely too quiet? There's always some sort of calamity or destruction awaiting discovery by mom or dad.
That's the feeling Virginia conservatives have had after Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger's first six calamitous months in office. She's been staying suspiciously under the radar of late after getting the judicial smackdown on her attempts to gerrymander the congressional map and outlaw the sale of "automatic weapons" and high-capacity magazines.
Sure, she's been on social media patting herself on the back and taking credit for things that were put into motion by her predecessor, Republican Glenn Youngkin (and even glomming onto President Trump's renovation of Dulles Airport). She also just took a taxpayer-funded boondoggle to France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, billing it as an "international economic trade mission."
It now seems that while everyone's attention was focused on lobster maps and gun grabs, Spanberger was slowly restoring voting rights to tens of thousands of convicted felons who call Virginia home.
Except ...
She's not touting the "felons" bit, she's claiming to have reversed "disenfranchisement" that was “a shameful relic of our Jim Crow past.” And it was all the fault of the Republicans who came before her.
Here's her announcement:
🚨NEW: Since taking office, we have restored the right to vote for more than 66,000 Virginians who served their time.
— Governor Abigail Spanberger (@GovernorVA) July 31, 2026
Voting is foundational to who we are as Americans. These Virginians deserve to make their voices heard and take hold of their second chance.…
She even gave herself a nice siren emoji, thinking she was real hot stuff in making this announcement. What that siren actually does is warn Virginians that, yet again, Spanberger is propping up criminals while simultaneously doing everything she can to erode the rights of law-abiding citizens.
And many in the media are happily reporting to duty as Spanberger water carriers. Nary a mention that these "Virginians" are also convicts.
New: Spanberger has restored voting rights to more than 66,000 Virginians https://t.co/LEVZD2rRRw
— Dean Mirshahi (@DeanMirshahi) July 31, 2026
Instead of thanking her lucky stars that Youngkin was her predecessor and handed her a commonwealth ripe with opportunity, she basically accused him of bringing back Jim Crow.
Spanberger sharply criticized the process used by her predecessor, Republican Glenn Youngkin, who faced intense scrutiny over a case-by-case review system that led to significantly fewer restorations each year he was in office.
“I’m proud that — after contending with my predecessor's efforts to deny Virginians their fundamental rights — we have restored the rights of more than 66,000 Virginians who have served their time,” Spanberger said.
“These Virginians deserve the right to use their vote, make their voices heard, and be recognized as contributing citizens to our Commonwealth and country.”
As a reminder, this is the same woman who has prevented state law enforcement from cooperating with ICE, tried her own hand at disenfranchisement by pushing a gerrymandered congressional map, and is laser-focused on removing firearms from those who have never committed a crime.
We'll see what happens next. When Spanberger's fellow Democrat, Terry McAuliffe, was governor, he tried to restore voting rights to 206,000 felons at one time, something the Virginia Supreme Court later struck down.
Virginia conservatives had better keep listening for the silence, because with Grabby Abby Spanberger, it usually means another constitutional calamity is already underway.
Editor's Note: The Democrats are doing everything in their power to undermine the integrity of our elections.
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