Will Joe Biden's autopen orders be declared 'null and void' before the 2026 midterms?

Prediction market on metaculus. *This forecasting question is associated with the Verity controversy: Will Joe Biden's autopen orders be declared 'null and void' before the 2026 midterms?* An [autopen](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/29/what-is-an-autopen-and-why-cant-trump-stop-talking-about-it) is a mechanical device historically used by U.S. presidents to replicate signatures on official documents when the president is unavailable to sign each individually. [Presidential autopens have been used across multiple administrations to sign executive orders](https://www.npr.org/2025/03/17/nx-s1-5330709/autopen-biden-pardon-void), proclamations, and other official acts, and longstanding legal guidance indicates that a president does not need to physically sign a document themselves for it to be valid so long as the signature reflects the president’s authorization. In late 2025, former President Donald Trump publicly declared via social media that all executive orders, pardons, and other actions signed using an autopen under Joe Biden’s administration were [“null and void” and “of no further force or effect.”](https://trumpstruth.org/statuses/34128?) The claim was echoed by Republican lawmakers and a [House Oversight Committee report](https://news.ssbcrack.com/house-oversight-committee-urges-doj-investigation-into-bidens-autopen-usage-questions-legitimacy-of-executive-actions/) asserting that Biden’s alleged cognitive decline and use of the autopen could undermine the legitimacy of his actions. Legal experts and nonpartisan fact-checkers have countered these claims, noting there is [no constitutional mechanism for one president to unilaterally declare another president’s actions void simply because an autopen was used](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-trumps-claim-that-biden-pardons-are-void-because-he-used-an-autopen). The Constitution and longstanding practice empower the president to [issue pardons](https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R46179) and [take executive actions](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-1/ALDE_00000243/); courts have generally held that mechanical signatures are valid if the underlying decision was the president’s. As of late 2025, [Republican calls for investigations or legal reviews](https://www.wbbjtv.com/2025/10/28/republicans-send-biden-autopen-report-to-the-justice-department-urging-further-investigation/) by the Department of Justice and other officials have not resulted in any judicial rulings declaring Biden’s autopen-signed orders invalid. Whether any such legal challenge will reach a court with jurisdiction to consider the constitutional validity of these actions — and whether a court would rule they are “null and void” — remains unresolved.

Resolves: 11/5/2026.