Joe Biden relied on a mechanical autopen to sign official government documents far more frequently—and under more questionable circumstances—than previously known, according to an analysis by the Oversight Project, a watchdog group based in Washington.
During Biden’s four years in office, the autopen was used to sign thousands of presidential proclamations, executive orders, pardons, and commutations. Investigators identified at least three distinct mechanical versions of Biden’s signature used throughout his term—more than double the number previously reported. In many cases, the autopen was used even while Biden was physically present at the White House and actively signing other documents by hand.
The Oversight Project revealed that Biden appeared to sign all executive orders and clemency warrants personally during his first 17 months in office. But that pattern shifted on June 13, 2022, when a commutation for a federal inmate was executed via autopen. A month later, the device was used for the first time to sign an executive order while Biden was abroad in Israel. From that point forward, the use of the autopen increased sharply—especially during periods when Biden’s cognitive decline became more visible, according to aides cited anonymously in books and news reports.
The watchdog labeled the signatures Autopen A, B, and C. The third version, Autopen C, was only recently discovered after investigators examined presidential proclamations issued just days after Biden’s inauguration. That version was used to sign hundreds of proclamations with uniform precision, leading Oversight Project Vice President Kyle Brosnan to conclude with “high confidence” that it was a distinct autopen signature.
In 2023, 16 out of 24 executive orders were signed mechanically, and in 2024, the rate rose to 14 out of 19—about 74%. During Biden’s final 20 days in office in January 2025, all 14 executive orders were autopen-signed, even though he was still in Washington with no official events listed on several of those days.
The data suggests the autopen was often deployed not out of necessity, but as a deliberate choice, even when Biden was available to sign documents himself.
Oversight Project investigators say this pattern raises serious questions about who was exercising executive authority and why a mechanical proxy was used with such frequency. One source familiar with the findings suggested the shifting signatures might correspond with changes in White House personnel who had access to the device—or reflect an effort to obscure the president’s physical and cognitive decline.
