"The Division does not accept electronic signatures..."
That may work temporarily, but I believe that all states will eventually accept electronic signatures as our whole society goes more and more paperless.
I agree with Lisa. This potentially affects notaries everywhere, as an incoming call to their operation could come from anywhere. And I'd bet dollars to donuts that they'll be advertising nationally - and maybe by more than online methods. Can you picture radio and TV ads telling people they can get documents notarized on demand, right from their bedrooms? These guys are likely putting lots of money into this. And if they can convince one state's governor (and legislature, apparently) to support it, they'll eventually be able to do it in at least some other states, as well.
And I agree that the issues of willingness and competence are likely going to be the biggest concerns. Unfortunately, those are vague concepts that may not have a legal basis of support. However, I believe they are a crucial component of "personal appearance" that would be lost with a webcam notarization. The differences in state notary laws could be handled by software programs. BUT how worried do you think a VA notary in a boiler room will be about grandma's mental awareness if they're being statistically monitored for number of completions per hour, etc. like most call center employees in cubicles?! (And I believe that's what they would end up being.)
Does anyone think there's any chance of getting lawyers, paralegals, judges, etc. to pay any attention to this issue? Maybe state legislators? If we go to the media, we'd need to be very careful, as we wouldn't have control of how the issue is presented. Their knee-jerk instinct is usually to present both sides of an issue and many reporters may feel that the promised conveniences sound like a good idea... (And the "Notarize" folks would roll out the full PR machine.)
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