ALBANY, NY — A judge ruled Monday that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name cannot appear on the New York ballot because he falsely stated a New York residence in his nomination petitions, even though he lives in California.
The scion of the famous Democratic political dynasty rejected the decision as biased and announced that he would appeal.
“The Democrats show contempt for democracy,” Kennedy said in a statement, pointing out that the ruling judge was a Democrat. “They are not confident they can win at the ballot box, so they are trying to deny voters a choice. We will appeal and we will win.”
If the judge’s ruling is upheld, Kennedy would not only be disqualified from the ballot in New York, but could also face challenges in other states where he used an address in a New York City suburb to collect signatures.
The ruling came after a judge in North Carolina ruled earlier Monday that Kennedy could remain on the state’s ballot despite a separate challenge on other grounds.
In her 34-page decision, Judge Christina Ryba concluded that the rented bedroom Kennedy claimed as his New York home was not “a real and lawful residence but merely a ‘sham address’ he adopted to maintain his voter registration” and promote his political candidacy.
“Given the size and appearance of the guest bedroom as seen in the photographs admitted into evidence, the court finds Kennedy’s testimony that he could return to that bedroom to live there with his wife, family members, several pets, and all of his personal belongings to be highly improbable, if not absurd,” the judge wrote.
Ryba said evidence presented at trial showed that Kennedy had long borrowed addresses from friends and relatives to maintain his voter registration in New York state while actually living in California.
“Using a friend’s address for political and electoral purposes without setting foot on the premises is not a residence under the Election Code,” the judge wrote. “To rule otherwise would set a dangerous precedent and open the door to the fraud and political mischief that the Election Code’s residency rules are designed to prevent.”
Kennedy reiterated in his statement that he had provided evidence that New York had been his primary residence since 1964. This included that he pays state taxes, has a law practice in the state and holds a driver’s license, falconry license and other recreational licenses in New York.
However, Ryba rejected these as “irrelevant” because he could not prove that he was present at a specific address where he wanted to live permanently.
Clear Choice Action, a Democratic-aligned political action committee that supported the lawsuit, said the ruling shows that Kennedy intentionally misled election officials and abused voters’ trust.
“The Kennedy team will no doubt file one desperate lawsuit after another in the days and weeks ahead; they will fail, and it will not change the simple truth: He lied, and he will be held accountable,” the organization said.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of several state voters, alleges that Kennedy’s state nomination petition falsely listed a residence in affluent Katonah when he had actually lived in the Los Angeles area since 2014, when he married “Drop It, Larry!” actress Cheryl Hines.
Kennedy, who led a New York-based environmental group for decades and whose father of the same name was a New York senator, argued during the trial that he had lifelong ties to New York and intended to return there.
During the trial, which lasted less than four days, Kennedy said he was currently renting a room in a friend’s house in Katonah, about 40 miles north of Midtown Manhattan, but that because of his constant campaign travel, he had only slept in that room once.
The 70-year-old candidate said he moved to California 10 years ago to be with his wife and always planned to return to New York.
Barbara Moss, who rents the room to Kennedy, testified that he pays her $500 a month. However, she acknowledged that there was no written lease and that Kennedy’s first payment was made only after the New York Post published an article casting doubt on Kennedy’s claim that he lived at that address.
The judge also heard testimony from a longtime friend of Kennedy’s who said the candidate was a regular overnight guest at his own Westchester home from 2014 to 2017, but was not a renter there, as Kennedy had claimed.
Attorneys for several New York voters questioned Kennedy in often heated exchanges as they tried to make their case, pointing to government documents including a federal candidacy statement with a California address and even a social media video in which Kennedy talks about training ravens at his Los Angeles home.
“Kennedy’s testimony that he did not own any of the furniture, bedding or other decorative items in the guest room, as well as his testimony that his wife and family, his extensive book collection and his wide selection of domestic and exotic pets all remained in California, were further compelling evidence that Kennedy lacked the requisite physical presence and intent to remain” at the Katonah address, the judge wrote in her ruling.
Kennedy, thanks to his famous name and loyal electorate, has the potential to do better than any independent presidential candidate in decades. Strategists on both the Democratic and Republican sides have expressed concern that he could hurt their candidate’s chances.
Kennedy’s campaign said he had enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in most states, but challenges and lawsuits have emerged in several states.
Kennedy has told reporters that his exclusion from the New York ballot could lead to lawsuits in other states where his campaign has listed the same address.
After the trial concluded on Thursday, Kennedy argued that the people who signed his petitions deserved a chance to vote for him.
“These Americans want to see me on the ballot. They want to have a choice,” he said.
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Marcelo reported from East Meadow, N.Y. Associated Press writer Michael Sisak contributed to this report.
