Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been disqualified from appearing on New York's general election ballot after a judge ruled Monday that he falsely claimed a New York residence on his nominating petitions, leading to their invalidation.
Judge Christina Ryba ruled that Kennedy's claim of a New York address as his "place of residence" was a "false statement," concluding that it was evident he had no plans to move back to the Empire State and said he only listed the location for political gain. Ryba's ruling is expected to be appealed by the Aug. 15 deadline. If her ruling is upheld, it would bar Kennedy from the New York ballot and potentially spark challenges in other states where he used a New York suburban address to collect signatures.
"The overwhelming credible evidence introduced at trial established that Kennedy's connections with the [New York] address existed only on paper and were maintained for the sole purpose of maintaining his voter registration and political standing in the State of New York," Ryba wrote.
Last week in court, Kennedy testified that he has considered New York his home since childhood and intended to return. He explained that he temporarily moved to California in 2014 to live with his wife and that he is currently renting a room at a woman's home in New York.
Barbara Moss, the woman who owns the home, testified that Kennedy paid her $500 a month for the room. She added that Kennedy had spent only one night at the home and that she received the first rental payment from him on May 20 of this year.
In a statement, the Kennedy campaign condemned "the openly partisan ruling" and vowed to continue the legal fight.
"The ruling came in spite of the fact that Kennedy is registered to vote in New York, New York has been his primary residence since 1964, he pays taxes in New York, he has a New York driver's license, his legal license and law practice is in New York, and his falconry license and other recreational licenses are in New York," the statement said.
"We intend to pursue injunctive relief in the Southern District of New York. If state court judges are going to ignore the Constitution, the federal courts must step in to protect voters' rights," said campaign Senior Counsel Paul Rossi.
Kennedy said in the statement that "Democrats are showing contempt for democracy."
"They aren't confident they can win at the ballot box, so they are trying to stop voters from having a choice. We will appeal and we will win," he said.
The lawsuit against Kennedy is backed by Clear Choice Action, a Democrat-aligned super PAC that's working to hinder third-party candidates in the presidential election.
"Today's ruling makes clear that Mr. Kennedy lied about his residency and provided a false address on his filing papers and candidate petitions in New York, intentionally misleading election officials and betraying voters' trust," said Pete Kavanaugh, founder of Clear Choice Action. "The Kennedy team will undoubtedly file desperate lawsuit after desperate lawsuit in the coming days and weeks; they will fail, and it will not change the simple truth: he lied, and he's being held accountable."
The super PAC has also taken legal action against Kennedy in Pennsylvania and filed an objection to his candidacy in Illinois. Other Democratic Party allies are leading similar efforts in Nevada and Delaware.
"The RFK Jr. running for president is the same RFK Jr. portrayed in this story: a deeply troubled, reckless, and dangerous man. He doesn't think the rules apply to him and he refuses to consider the consequences of his actions," said Matt Corridoni, A DNC spokesperson. "That is why he is willing to play the role of spoiler for Donald Trump in this election and why he has floated endorsing Trump in exchange for a job in a Trump administration. RFK Jr. has always put RFK Jr. first and he has no regard for the disastrous impact his actions would have on the American people."
Following the New York ruling, "We'll be assessing our options in other states based off of this ruling," Corridoni added.
The Kennedy campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
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