Recall petitions don't have to be notarized, appeals court rules

A state appeals court on Thursday upheld a ruling that recall petitions are not required to be notarized.

Robert Fisher, a 20-year-old school board member in Park Ridge, challenged the legality of a recall effort because petition signatures were not notarized. The appeals court affirmed Superior Court Judge Peter Geiger’s ruling that recall petitions can be submitted with a simple affidavit.

“The purpose of the affidavit portion in the statute is to ensure to the best of the committee’s ability that the signatures are valid, true, accurate and comport with the intention of the statute,” the judges ruled. “Here, we conclude the clear language in the collector’s statement on each page of the petition meets the intention of the statute and provides an appropriate attestation to the truthfulness of the statement signed by the collectors.”

Judges Stanley Bergman and Kay Walcott-Henderson issued the ruling the day after motions were filed in the case.




https://newjerseyglobe.com/judiciary/recall-petitions-dont-have-to-be-notarized-appeals-court-rules/