Kennedy Bounced From New York Ballot Over ‘Sham’ Residency

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s long-shot path to the presidency just became even more difficult after he was thrown off the ballot in New York, which may be the start of a larger trend.

On Monday, a New York judge ruled that the independent candidate cannot appear on the state’s presidential ballot in the fall because Kennedy had falsely claimed residency in the state while living primarily in California. In her ruling, Justice Christina Ryba wrote that the Westchester County address Kennedy listed in his nominating petitions is “merely a ‘sham’ address that he assumed for the purpose of maintaining his voter registration and furthering his own political aspirations in this State.”

The lawsuit was backed by Clear Choice, a Democratic Party–aligned super-PAC aimed at challenging third-party candidates. The ruling could potentially spark lawsuits in other states where Kennedy listed the same New York address in paperwork seeking ballot access. He indicated his intent to appeal the ruling, alleging that the decision was a political attempt to suppress his campaign’s chances in November. “The Democrats are showing contempt for democracy,” Kennedy 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.”

In May, the New York Post reported that Kennedy listed 84 Croton Lake Road in Katonah as his primary residence on his nominating petitions as well as his voting address, but that he was not listed as the property owner or known to residents of the area. According to the New York Times, Barbara Moss, the home’s owner, testified during the civil hearing that Kennedy rents a room from her and her husband for $500 a month and that there’s no written lease. One day after the Post’s story initially ran, Kennedy made his first payment and paid a year’s worth of back rent.

Another Westchester address that Kennedy previously listed was also challenged in court. He claimed in a sworn affidavit that he rented a room in a house owned by a couple he’s friends with until he launched his presidential bid in 2023, a claim they denied. The Albany Times-Union reports that David Michaelis testified that he and his wife Nancy Steiner had offered Kennedy a place to stay as needed when he was working at the environmental group Riverkeeper and Pace University, but that he hadn’t stayed there since 2017 and the three have since fallen out. Michaelis said he was by no means Kennedy’s landlord as has been reported in the news and did not charge him rent. “I categorically wouldn’t make such a request of a friend,” Michaelis told the Times-Union. “This is a fiction of something that is not even going on.”

Kennedy moved to California in 2014, a move that he states was temporary to support his wife Cheryl Hines’s acting career. But he still claims New York as his primary residence, citing the fact that he pays taxes in the state and maintains his driver’s license, law license, and falconry license there. If Kennedy’s residency is deemed to be in California, it could potentially put the state and its 54 electoral votes out of play for his campaign. His running mate, Nicole Shanahan, is a California native, and the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution bars two candidates on the same ticket from being residents of the same state, which could prevent California’s electors from casting their votes in their campaign’s favor if placed in the unlikely scenario.