Category: Notary News and Advice

Once again, there is conflict involving politics and notaries.  But, let’s not worry about the specifics of it all this time and ask a more poignant question.

Should notaries play a role in our election process?

We Don’t All Go to the Polls

To make it clear, we are not speaking about people who attend the polls to vote.  Instead, we are talking about absentee and mail in ballots.

In most cases, these votes are cast and counted as is, without any special requirement to prove the person who filled out the ballot is the one whose name is on the ballot.  And as any one of us who’ve been notarizing important documents for a while have learned, while proper notarization does not make a document bullet proof, it lends significant, legal credence to it.

Some states or localities have laws that require notarization of these types of ballots.  In our recent midterms, one locality let a select few of it’s residents vote by email or fax, if the ballot was notarized.

So, What’s the Problem?

I don’t think we need to tell you the types of things that are alleged to occur in our elections.  But, we do need to take into account these things, if we are to properly address the questions.

So we are going to provide you with three different circumstances where either a notary, or lack of a notary, has become a question.  We are not going to name states, parties, races. We are simply going to give you the facts as we know them.

Break Glass In Case of Emergency?

So, there was an area in the United States that experienced a massive natural disaster just a couple of weeks before the election.  People homes were destroyed, lives turned upside down, sentimental possessions lost forever.

In other words, there was nothing to return to, at least yet.  And some who fled could not return due to medical or other significant reasons.

So, flouting the word of the election law, but acting in its spirit (benefit of the doubt), the local elections supervisor let a little more than 100 residents vote remotely, by email or fax, with notarization.

This caused a kerfluffle, of course, that those ballots be rejected.  That they didn’t follow official election protocol.  The opposing viewpoint, that since these residents faced the worst and could not reasonably return in time, is that not allowing them to vote would be disenfranchising them.

And an important question arose from the situation.  How should we handle voting for those affected by natural disaster, who cannot reasonably return to their homes?  And should the notary play a role, to ensure the process is fair?

Mail-In Ballots – Notarization Required

So while most states do not require mail in ballots to be notarized, not all of them follow that protocol.

And that has led to accusations that some voters are disenfranchised because it is too hard to find a notary, or they may not be able to afford a notary.

While we would disagree that it is hard to find a notary, since that is our job and we are good at it, that does not mean we should dismiss peoples’ concerns outright.  In this case, education on finding a notary might be a good way to alleviate concerns.

Or, maybe an enterprising notary or two will find a way to target these voters, provide services to them at reduced cost, and reap the rewards of all of the positive PR.  It’s a very valid, loss leader strategy, if a notary is positioned to serve this clientele.  Sending out press releases to all of the local writers for your area newspapers and tv reporters, would most assuredly give that notary positive coverage in the press.

There are a lot of other issues concerning the process in this state, but we will stay out of those, because they do not address the question at hand.

Should notaries help ensure the integrity of our election process by notarizing ballots that are mailed in?

So now we’ll look at the flip side of this.

Mail-In Ballots – Notarization Not Required

In another state, a group of people were arrested last week for allegedly paying off homeless people to fill out fraudulent election documents.

While we are not sure why they were doing it, they are accused of bribing the homeless with money or cigarettes, over the course of several years.  The total amount of ballots affected by this group is unknown to us.

This group is alleged to have preyed on some of our most vulnerable citizens.

Would requiring a notary prevent these kind of abuses?  Is there a way, that we as notaries, can both protect the most vulnerable among us, while also ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard when we vote?

The Verdict

We are not here to give you an answer to anything.  We just want to raise valid points, so we may intelligently understand things.  That way, if questions are raised in our communities, we are ready to offer solutions.

But, it is impossible to dispute.  Notaries provide integrity.  They provide a verifiable paper trail to prove the legitimacy of documents and the people that sign them.

Are notaries the answer?  It is not for us to say.

Maybe the better question is “Could Notaries be the Answer?”.

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The rules for Vermont Notaries are changing in a dramatic fashion.  And it is going to be more challenging than before, maybe even greatly so, depending on your opinion and how you run your business.

Change In Control

All notaries in Vermont are now subject to the control of the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office.  More specifically, the Office of Professional Regulation.  On the surface, this sounds like a simple change, as there are many professions that are under the purview of the OPR (Office of Professional Regulation).

But, buyer beware, as the Office in Control, the OPR has changed a lot of the rules surrounding notary publics.

According to the OPR website, the notary registration process is going to be far, far more complex then what it used to be. The entire notary registration process used to consist of a single page form, submitted to the local county clerk, found at the county courthouse. — From LexBlog

Greater Oversight

This is all being done in the interest of greater oversight.  Which, honestly, the vast majority of the notaries that Sunshine Signing works with, do not need.

Why?

This isn’t just a simple change of oversight, it is a massive increase in state power over notaries.  Notaries are now lumped in with doctors and nurses.  And they have a lot more regulations to get their licenses than notaries do.

Is a change to make notaries more accountable good?

Yes, but only if done smartly to increase efficiency and transparency.  And, opinions may vary, but many notaries will find the new licensing requirements  burdensome or beyond the pale.

New Disciplinary Actions

Vermont notaries will now be subject to numerous new rules that could result in disciplinary action from the state.

For example, a notary who does not inform the state within 30 days if they have moved addresses are now subject to prosecution.  And that is not even close to all of it.  Notaries are now bound to the same rules as people like physicians.  And notaries are going to need to learn these rules if they are to comply.

Even more perplexing, is that notaries will now be subject  to disciplinary action, based on both the unique facets of notary practice, as well as, general disciplinary proceedings that apply to all professions.  For example, notaries are now required to obtain and utilize a physical stamping device (whereas previously a signature was adequate). 26 V.S.A. § 5370(b) provides that “[i]f a notary public’s stamping device is lost or stolen, the notary public or the notary public’s personal representative or guardian shall notify promptly the Office [OPR] on discovering the device is lost or stolen.”  Failure to promptly report constitutes “unprofessional conduct” and may subject the notary to prosecution pursuant to 26 V.S.A. § 5342(a)(5). — From LexBlog

Forget about a notaries’ five biggest mistakes, this is of an unknown amount at this point.

There is no denying these changes are abrupt and will require significant effort to learn.  Notaries will be subject to an array of state laws they were not subject to before.  From obtaining a notary commission, to the responsibilities on the job, to possible complications in their personal life, the process is changing and Vermont notaries need to be ready.

We are not lawyers, and though we do business with notaries in Vermont, the scope of the changes is outside of our expertise.  Therefore, we recommend you visit the article at Lexblog.  They are more qualified to talk about the specifics than we are, and have all of the documents that are needed for Vermont notaries.

We’d like to give full credit to Lexblog for alerting us of the changes.  Their article contains additional specific information.  If you are a notary in Vermont, we would highly recommend you read it.

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The pumpkins are cut, the costumes are at the ready, but it wouldn’t be Halloween without something spooky.  And what could be more spooky in this industry than a notary who signs from the grave.

So as you pass out candy and adore all the little munchkins at your door, make sure you keep the “Headless Notary” in mind, for they should frighten even the most intrepid among us.

You Can’t Sign when You are Dead

Or can you?

Halloween only works for those who believe in it, those willing to commit themselves to the spirit of the holiday.  To let themselves truly engage in tradition for one day, lest they become a party pooper.

You’d be surprised at how many signings from the grave have been reported over the years.  Most only available in news clippings from before the advent of the internet.

But, the legend may exist even to this day.

A Ghostly Presence?

Just this year, a Brooklyn resident was accused of using the signature and stamp of a dead notary.  Another strange story emerged from Philadelphia.  In 2010, an incident in Wisconsin gained considerable attention.  And these are just a few of the ghastly signings that have occurred over the years.

Now are these simple frauds?  Or perhaps, something more sinister altogether.

On this sacred day, when the world of the living and the dead overlap, could the unthinkable really be impossible?

A Shiver Down Your Spine

We’ve all felt it, that tingling feeling going down your body, a feeling that believers say is a sign of a ghost in your presence.  They say the spirits are trapped on earth, unable to pass into the spirit realm until an unfinished piece of business is done.

So why couldn’t that ghost be a notary, one that loved their job so much they must sign more documents before they can move off of the earthly plane. Or one that is haunted by a signing they performed, and feel they must make it right?

One set of signings from beyond the grave involved a landlord who was allegedly wronging his tenants.  Several of the landlord’s documents were signed from the grave.

Now is that fraud by the landlord?  Or on a day like Halloween, do we have to entertain the notion that this was really revenge from the grave?  An act perpetrated by the spirit of a notary, to expose the actions of the landlord, so they could find peace and move on.

We’ll leave that for the Ouija board to decide.  Though, personally, we aren’t getting within 100 feet of one of those things.

To the readers:  In case you didn’t catch on, this article was done tongue in cheek.  This article was written in an attempt to simply put a quick smile on your face for the holiday.  We hope every body has an awesome Halloween (and stay away from the “Headless Notary”, they scare the crud out of us).

Halloween isn’t the only creepy thing surrounding notaries.  Check out From Norm to the Bizarre to find out what an extreme signing looks like.

If you’d prefer to get a chuckle at someone else’s expense (with names excluded) you might prefer some of our biggest blundering notaries.

Or how about signing with your own blood?

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Notary reporting requirements in Ohio are getting more involved then they have been before.  And they are quite strange given the the job of a notary.

Elder Abuse?

The state has decreed that notaries are required, as of September 29th, to report any suspicions of elder abuse, neglect or exploitation to the authorities.

What?

The state has expanded its requirements for suspicion of abuse before, but that has always been professionals in the medical field.  You know, doctors, EMTs, pharmacists.  The type of people you might expect to have the type of training to properly weigh these things.

But, no.  The notary will now be expected to look for signs of abuse and report them.

To be fair, notaries are not the only profession caught up in this.   Real Estate agents, bank employees and others are too.  Many of whom are not given the proper training in their fields to make these types of judgments.

We have already spoken with Ohio’s Attorney General’s Office.  More specifically, about what training may be available for notaries.

They have been very helpful, and we expect to receive more information from them shortly.  As soon as we do, we will let you know about it.

Respect Our Elders

I think we all agree that respecting our elders is the right thing to do.  Any type of abuse against them is wrong.

But the majority of abuse cases are subtle.  Sure, if you saw someone who was surely battered, no one would fault you for doing the right thing. But, 24% of all elder abuse is exploitation.  Additional causes are neglect, emotional abuse and more.

Notaries are taught from day 1 that you never give your opinions at the table.  Outside of a circumstance where a signer is obviously unfit, whatever the cause, professional notaries are expected to act in a certain way.  You don’t know the person’s circumstances, and you don’t know if this is the best deal a person might be able to make.  It is hard to see, from our perspective, how you would evaluate these types of things without saying things at the table that are taboo for the industry.

This raises a lot of hard questions.

Does this Raise My Liability?

In short, no.

As long as you make the report in good faith, and do not provide demonstrably false information.

What is more unclear, is a situation where you do not report and the state thinks you should have.  With the Ohio law, it is a misdemeanor criminal offense to not report elder abuse, if a reasonable person would believe it was there.  But, how does a notary even understand, in a 45 minute signing, enough to make these assumptions?

We could cite the actual statutes, but it is confusing.  Family Safety and Healing has a breakdown that is much better than we could give you.

The concern we do have here is what recently happened in Texas.  That an investigation over one signing might lead to investigation of all your past signings.

What About My Clients?

This is where it could get ugly.

Even though the state will protect your identity, and you are free from liability for reporting suspected abuse, your clients will inevitably figure it out.  And what happens then?

Does it even matter if the report is correct?  What if you are wrong?

What if your main client is out of state, be it a private client or signing service? This could cause a headache to your client, who wasn’t physically present at the signing to make this judgment call alongside you, but yet could be dragged into and through the problem. The notary could feel like they could lose a valuable client, even though they followed the laws for their state. They could feel that this could trickle down the line from one client to the next and cost them their business as they become a nuisance.

How is That Fair to Ohio Notaries?

It is not fair.  We readily recognize that.

Most companies would understand and appreciate the notary doing the right thing.

But, none of us can deny that businesses run on money.  Some notaries may feel if they end up costing their clients’ money, they are not going to be happy.

We understand the notaries’ concerns on this and how it can affect them. We also see the need for additional training to be available.  Fortunately, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office understands this and is helping us get Ohio notaries the information they need.

While we applaud the intent of the new rules in Ohio, we are concerned at what the outcome will be for our notary friends in Ohio.

We do hope our concerns are unfounded, and that these rules changes will result in less elder abuse and that notaries will be free to follow their conscience and the law.  But, there are some valid concerns, and we feel it is the right thing to try helping Ohio notaries understand them.

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When this first hit our radar a couple of weeks ago we thought we probably would not talk about it.  But, again, many national outlets cover a story, but they don’t tell us what we want and need to know, and that is problematic when you need to really understand a topic.

Many of you probably remember we covered a signing earlier this year that was in the mainstream news.  It elicited passionate responses and brought up good points.  It set all kinds of records for website traffic for us, but at the same time, the craziness that surrounded it all detracted from the points that needed to be made.

So we are going to try and leave the circus out of this. (good luck, huh)

Dallas Notary Suspended

A Dallas area notary has reached a settlement with the state of Texas regarding a signing involving two prominent individuals in 2016.  The settlement is said to include a three month suspension of notary duties, plus additional training and testing before she regains her commission.

The notary still stands by her work, and states that the only reason she settled with the state is to finally put this behind her, according to statements made by her attorney.

As to the notary:

“As a notary, it has been a consistent practice of mine to adequately document the identification of the person whose signature I have notarized, as required by law.”

So What was the Suspension For?

So you get this great signing and it goes wrong for all the wrong reasons.  But, if something happens, it stays with that signing, right?  Right now the most prevalent thought is that the suspension is for this particular high profile signing.

But, was it this particular signing that caused the issue, or did it just cast an unseemly spotlight on every signing the notary has ever done?

According to Texas officials, it was a little bit of both.

1. The notary failed to properly witness and document the signature for the high profile signing.
2. Further investigation into prior signings revealed additional violations.  — Thanks to The Dallas Morning News

You kind of get the feeling, that if someone audited everything you ever did, they are bound to find a mistake somewhere.  No one is perfect, no matter how hard we may strive to be.  And the sheer thought that one signing could rule them all is pretty scary.

So, it makes you wonder if something was wrong, or if the search for something wrong was so strong it was just better to get out of the way.

Making the Best Out of a Bad Situation

In business, we love to say we are looking for a win-win situation. But, what about when you are stuck in a lose-lose situation?

Seriously, what do you do when every option you have is bad?  Do you fight it out until the end, or do you try to escape with as little damage as possible?

The answer to that probably depends on the person, but when you look at a situation that could stretch out for an unknown amount of time, it is hard to blame someone for taking a lesser or more minor infraction, so they can move on with their lives.

Yes, having to take any settlement is onerous, especially when you know you are in the right, but let’s take a look at the alternative.

• The notary has already been living in limbo for 6 months or more.
• The notary would continue to live in limbo for an unknown amount of time into the future.
• The result at the conclusion may be equal to, or worse, than the agreement that has been entered.
• Continuing to have your name associated with either of the parties to the signing is bound to cause further problems, especially when considering what the signing was for.
• We seek justice, but when politics gets involved the outcome becomes unpredictable.

So, it’s not hard to see why someone might just want to move on with their lives.

Unfortunately for her, damage has been done.  Her name has been dragged into a national conversation we are sure she wanted nothing to do with.  We wish her the best moving forward.

Further Political Drivel Great Articles:

• Are Political Campaign Signings Worth It?
• Should Notaries Play a Part in Our Election Process?

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It appears our previous article on the Shasta Signing raised a few more questions that need to be addressed.

I have to say we have been impressed with the feedback and questions.  We love we are surrounded by so many as engrossed in this business as Sunshine is.  And while this is an outlandish situation, and it is not going to happen to most notaries, it is one of those weird things to be aware of.

We do wish we have more answers, but we will address what we can, and maybe that will help shine a little more light on the situation.

Conspiracy to Commit Fraud

In our previous article, we said that the notary had been accused of conspiracy to commit fraud.  This brought up a lot of questions, but there was something in this that we want to make clear.

No law enforcement agency has accused the notary of conspiracy.

Beyond that, we just don’t know.  We do know accusations happened on social media.  We do know that people made it sound like the accusations were coming from someone related to the victims, be it themselves, family, friends, or attorney.  But, we have no proof who levied the accusations.  We have no idea if the person or persons did it out of belief or anger at the situation. And we would prefer for solid facts to be released before we make any further comment on the situation.

So, we are going to leave it at this point, and if we get further documentation in the future that changes what we know, we’ll let everyone know at that time.

Criminal versus Civil and Your Reputation

A person or entity does not need to be charged criminally to face a civil lawsuit.  Even when an extreme claim is made. And we definitely believe an accusation of fraud is an extreme claim that needs to be backed up by serious evidence.  And while, absent of serious evidence, the notary will prevail, the damage to their reputation may already be done.

We never post the names of any notary accused of anything, or even convicted of something.  We value the relationship we’ve built with notaries all over the country over the last decade, and we do not believe it is our job, or our ethics, to damage the reputation of a notary.

Unfortunately, we are not the only ones who report or comment on events.  Names get thrown in newspaper articles, web postings, tweets.  The really sad part is this normally happens when the true details of a situation are not known.  And when the notary gets vindicated, none (or very few) of these previous postings get corrected.

In other words, a notary does not have to do anything wrong to take a hit to their reputation.  Again, this is unlikely to ever happen to you, but it is something we all need to be aware of.

The Best Way to Protect Your Reputation in Today’s Age

We just talked about how a story comes quickly.  We live in an age of a 24 hour news cycle and social media.

And we also talked about how initial stories tend to have incomplete, or incorrect details.

If somehow you get involved in a signing that becomes controversial, you need to get out in front of it.  Make sure those original stories are complete with facts from you (or an anonymous source with knowledge of how you think, lol).  Know which local reporters you should call, and make sure to call anyone that publishes an article without speaking with you first.

You will probably want to get advice from an attorney about this.  While we want to get out in front of the story, we do want to make sure we do so without asserting something we should not.

Remember, in today’s environment, protecting our reputation is an active pursuit.  Sitting idly by is not an option.

What About My E&O Insurance?

By now we should all know what E&O Insurance is.  It protects the notary from any errors or omissions in a signing.  It is a vital insurance for a notary to have, both to protect their personal or business liability, but also to establish trust with clients.

Here is the issue, and we have not been able to get anyone to directly verify that E&O Insurance would protect against allegations such as these. And no one who is willing to speak on the record.  That’s a bit troubling, but they are probably just making sure they stay on the safe side. *If there is anyone out there willing to speak on the record about this, we’d love to talk to you.*

The issue is simple, an error versus an intentional fraud.

The part that is not simple, is this is a giant mass of gray.  You can be accused of fraud over a simple error, or for nothing you did wrong at all.  And this is where the confusion sets in.  And as much as we wish we could tell you in certain terms what this all means to you, at this time we cannot, and from the conversations we have had, we are not sure we ever will.

Further complicating the matter are differing laws in different states. And differences between policies that each notary holds.

There seems to be no easy answer to this, though we would love to be proven wrong.

In Closing

As you can see, the Shasta Signing is fascinating, and while something like that is unlikely to ever happen to us, it raises questions we may not have encountered or have answers for.

At this point we are hoping the accusations against the notary are baseless, and that the accusations were just made by an upset victim or someone close to them.

If that is true, this story may have an uneventful end for notaries.  But, if it is not, it may raise some serious new questions for notaries across the country, and may provide some answers to lingering questions.

*Please remember that we are notaries, not lawyers.  We do our best to keep you informed, but please do not consider what we say as legal advice, as we are not qualified to do so.*

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If you are an Idaho notary or resident you have probably heard of the fiasco that has now been dubbed “the Shasta Signing”.

For those unaware, an Idaho notary, who shall remained unnamed, signed a document transferring legal title of a house from a daughter to her father.

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It’s the fourth of July and it’s time to fire up the grill, have a blast with friends, and then literally blast some fireworks.  But, it’s also a day to take a little time to remember how we became a nation. So this fourth, how about we take a minute to honor the notary who helped found our nation, Thomas McKean.

Born in Pennsylvania in 1734, Thomas McKean was quick to use his family’s influence to jump into politics, and was quite good at it.  By 1756 he had already passed the bar exam and had become deputy attorney general of Sussex County, and within a couple of years was named clerk of the assembly.  I could go on, but you probably get the point, he rose quickly up the political ranks before the revolution.

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