When I first heard of the debate about having a Notary requirement for an absentee ballot, it seemed sensible to me. The main point of having Notaries is to verify a person’s identity to authenticate the credibility of a signed document, or in this case, a ballot.
Many complained that it was “racist” to require Notaries, or would be a huge hassle. Seeing a Notary in their office takes a few minutes, is fast, and not expensive. The several dollars required to see a Notary does not exclude anyone other than perhaps homeless people.
The essential and critical point of this article is that the states who did require Notaries for mail-in ballots did not show evidence of having rampant fraud involving mail-in ballots. The states that did not require Notaries that were swing states often had big lawsuits involving Rudy Giuliani.
On the other hand, history has proven that you can get rid of checks and balances for proving the integrity of an election, commit rampant fraud, deny the evidence or the scope of the evidence, and survive any court case. You can cheat, and get away with it — at least for now. I’m sure there will be some sort of consequences for cheating, but time will tell how the consequences will manifest itself.
I believe that absentee ballots should not exist at all. I believe that those who have medical issues could vote with a mobile poll that comes to them. Identification and signatures must always be verified, and thumbprints should be taken. There should be databases to make sure that someone is voting in one state only and voting once only and that dead people don’t vote. Elections must have integrity, it is not rocket science to enforce this integrity, and Notaries contributed to the part of the election in 2020 that was integrous in particular states.
Amen. Yes and yes.
Comment by Elena Marie Burke — December 10, 2020 @ 7:56 pm
Yes Amen
Comment by Jackie Brown — December 14, 2020 @ 3:05 pm
While the cost is minimal, I’m fairly certain that many of us would also be willing to provide charity notarization for those in a position of not being able to afford it. I have forgone the notary fee if I’ve noticed a situation that warranted it.
Comment by Jim Carlough — December 14, 2020 @ 3:55 pm
Good Evening,
I was wondering if you could help me with a different kind of question?
How do I find a bonding number for a Notary Public?
Comment by Amparo — December 16, 2020 @ 1:18 am
It wouldn’t be too hard to set up a independent Notary Location/station close the the ballot drops and/or voting booths. The County/State could pay notaries by the hour. Or Voter would have the option to go to a notary and pay the notary fee.
Comment by Diana Bendickson — December 16, 2020 @ 4:22 pm
Man I wish more of our “leaders” or elected officials thought like you. It’s insane the cognitive dissonance most bureaucrats have and they will sell their own mama out for a dollar. Thank you again for making an excellent blog and it’s interesting how the states that required a notary for verification of absentee ballots had no where near the amount of mail in fraud the swing states did. As someone else posted I would have notarized the absentees for free as a service etc… like you said though no checks and balances now and we are turning into if not already have become a freaking banana republic. RIP USA
Comment by Matt — December 17, 2020 @ 3:58 pm
Here, here!
Comment by Leila Brown — October 15, 2021 @ 10:32 pm