Aug. 12 (UPI) — A judge ruled Monday against independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s petition to appear on New York’s general election ballot, citing the address he gave as a “sham.”
Judge Christina Ryba in Albany County Supreme Court invalidated Kennedy’s petition filed with the New York State Board of Elections, which she also directed to not print his name on official ballots to be used in the Nov. 5 election.
Kennedy is known to have lived for decades in New York, but now resides in California with his wife, Cheryl Hines. The lawsuit filed against his bid in the state by Clear Choice Action, a liberal, Democrat Party-aligned Super PAC, challenged that he did not live at the New York address he listed on the nominating petitions.
The address he submitted was 84 Croton Lake Road. Kennedy testified during the four-day trial, which began last week, that he has a vehicle registered in New York and is licensed to practice law in the state where he is also able to vote. He told the court that he had only slept at the residence he listed once about three weeks to a month earlier.
“Based upon the clear and convincing credible evidence presented in this case, the court finds that the 84 Croton Lake Road address listed on the 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 this state,” Ryba wrote in the ruling.
“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,” she continued. “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.”
Kennedy, a environmental lawyer, said he will appeal the decision.
“The Democrats are showing contempt for democracy,” he said in a statement. “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.”
The four-day trial ended Thursday as Kennedy attempts to gain access to the ballots of all states. On Friday, he officially secured a spot on the ballot in Texas, making it it the 17 state to do so, though his campaign states he has secured enough signatures for ballot access in 46 states.
Monday’s ruling, however, may have wide-ranging implications as presidential candidates must use the same address on their nominating petitions in all states.
The Democratic National Committee called Kennedy after the decision was issued a “fraud through and through.”
“Throughout the course of the trial, RFK Jr. was repeatedly called out for lies he told under oath in an attempt to mislead the public about his spoiler candidacy,” it said in a statement.