This isn't the Just Politics part of the forum, so I'll keep it work related.
People who don't fall into one of the large groups in the US are still entitled to notary services. So people who have a religious objection to taking an oath, only have a first name but no last name, have 5 middle names, have a name written in the Arabic alphabet, are married women who use their maiden name as their last name, or have less-common ideas about sexual identity, they all are entitled to notarial services.
Indeed, people in less-usual situations may have a greater need for notarial services so they can assert their rights (if that's what they want) or alter their situation to be more mainstream (if that's what they want).
There are other government officials who get to exercise substantial discretion, for example, a judge could allow or deny a name change. As ministerial officials, we don't judge whether the request from a client is a good idea, just whether it's an authorized notarial act, the certificate is in the proper format, and we have verified the client's identity in the manner required by law (and other requirements that vary by state). |
