Which documents (e.g., pardons, letters, proclamations) historically have been signed using an autopen by presidents and vice presidents?
Executive summary
Autopens have been used by U.S. presidents for decades to affix signatures on a range of documents—most commonly routine, bulk correspondence and memorabilia, but also on legislation, executive orders and other formal instruments after legal authorization—while reporting and partisan attacks have recently focused attention on pardons and the question of presence and accountability [1] [2] [3]. The record shows specific categories of documents historically signed with autopens, but available sources do not substantiate routine autopen use by vice presidents and leave open legal and political disputes about delegating the physical act of signing [4] [5].
1. Routine correspondence, photographs and bulk items: the most common use
Presidents have long used autopens to sign high volumes of routine items—letters recognizing life milestones, constituent correspondence, and promotional photographs—because the machine reproduces a real-ink signature efficiently and consistently; contemporary reporting and archival commentary identify such correspondence as the autopen’s staple use [1] [6] [4].
2. Checks and small administrative items: early and mundane applications
Historical accounts credit Harry S. Truman with early White House use of signature-duplicating devices for checks and mail, and Treasury and other offices used mechanical check-signing machines earlier in the 20th century, underscoring that practical, administrative signings have long been delegated to mechanized means [7] [4].
3. Legislation and bills: permitted after legal authorization, with notable examples
A pivotal Department of Justice/Office of Legal Counsel opinion in 2005 concluded that a president may direct his signature be affixed by an autopen, and the Archives notes President Obama authorized autopen use to sign time-sensitive legislation while abroad—an explicit historical precedent for autopen signatures appearing on bills and related documents [3] [2]. Media and legal historians also report presidents signing legislation from afar using autopen devices, including at least one instance cited of Obama signing bills while overseas [2] [3].
4. Executive orders, proclamations and pardons: disputed territory and political flashpoints
Reporting shows autopen signatures have appeared on executive orders and proclamations as well as on pardons, which has provoked political debate because pardons are an exclusively presidential power under the Constitution; conservative oversight groups and political opponents have amplified concerns about autopen use for pardons and the question of who controlled the device [1] [8]. At the same time, administrations and some legal authorities point to the OLC guidance and historical practice as validating such use [3] [2]. Scholars and some legal opinions, however, argue the practice raises constitutional and “presence” questions—most prominently in law-review critiques arguing a proxy signature outside the president’s presence is constitutionally dubious—which illustrates a clear legal disagreement in the record [5].
5. Historical sweep: from polygraphs to robot pens to modern autopens
The technological and institutional story stretches from Thomas Jefferson’s 18th‑/19th‑century polygraph device that made simultaneous duplicates (a mechanical precursor, not an autopen) to mid‑20th‑century autopen machines that entered presidential workflow; accounts credit Truman for early autopen use, document the autopen’s popularization through John F. Kennedy’s and Lyndon Johnson’s recorded reliance, and show continued use by recent presidents including Obama, Trump and Biden for various documents [7] [9] [6] [4].
6. Vice presidents and the record: a gap in sourcing
None of the provided sources documents routine or notable autopen use by vice presidents; the reporting and archival material focus on presidential practice and legal rulings about the president’s signing authority, so the absence of sourced examples means this analysis cannot assert that vice presidents have historically used autopens for official acts (limitation: no relevant source) (no direct source).
7. Political uses, agendas and the present controversy
Recent partisan debates—campaign rhetoric and congressional materials—have weaponized autopen practice as proof of incapacity or illegitimacy, especially around pardons and high‑profile executive actions; watchdog and partisan actors (e.g., Heritage’s Oversight Project, House GOP materials) have different agendas that amplify certain instances and legal fears, while DOJ/OLC guidance and archival practice are invoked by defenders of autopen use [1] [10] [3]. The factual record shows long-standing administrative practice plus legitimate doctrinal disputes about presence and delegation rather than a settled consensus that all forms of presidential signature may be automated without controversy [5] [3].