A New York judged ruled against independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying his petition did not use a legitimate address. The campaign blasted the ruling and pledged to appeal.
A New York judge ruled Monday that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cannot appear on that state’s ballot because he did not provide a legitimate address on his petition.
Judge Christina Ryba wrote in her ruling that the address listed on Kennedy’s nominating petition “was not Kennedy’s bona fide and legitimate residence, but merely a ‘sham’ address that he assumed for the purpose of maintaining his voter registration and furthering his own political aspirations” in New York.
The court found that Kennedy has a pattern of “borrowing addresses from friends and relatives” while actually living in California.
“Using a friend’s address for political and voting purposes, while barely stepping foot on the premises, does not equate to residency under the Election Law,” Ryba wrote. “To hold otherwise would establish a dangerous precedent and open the door to the fraud and political mischief that the Election Law residency rules were designed to prevent.
