E-closings (eSignings) provide a way for the borrower to sign their loan documents electronically.  With the click of a mouse they can sign one, or even several documents at once.

The borrower is not the only one who can sign these documents.  A flaw in the system?  Computer hackers?

Not exactly.  The loan documents are stored on a secured website.  A person would need the password for the borrower's account to gain access to the documents.  One of the persons who has access to those loan documents is the notary signing agent who will conduct the e-Signing.  It's out of necessity that the notary signing agent receive the password, since they will be the ones who have to log on to the website at the commencement of the closing.

But what if the notary signing agent has problems logging on to the website?  Does this mean that the closing has to be cancelled? 

No. There is a solution.  The loan documents can still be printed out on paper. The borrower will sign them with a 'wet' signature instead of an electronic signature.

However, there are still electronic documents with no electronic signature.

I was reading on one of the message boards about a notary signing agent who encountered a problem logging on to the website that contained the electronic documents.  The signing agent printed out the documents on paper and had the borrower sign them.  Problem solved.  Closing successfully completed.

Since the borrower signed the paper documents of their own free will, it would seem that it would be alright for someone other than the borrower to sign the electronic documents.  Why not?  That is what the notary signing agent was asked to do by the signing service that hired them.  Go back into the system and sign the electronic documents.

Who would know?  What difference does it make?

Perhaps no one would know.  But it makes a lot of difference.  It's dishonest. 

Although the borrower had already signed the paper documents, they did not consent to having the documents signed electronically.

The notary signing agent did the right thing and refused to do it.