RFK Jr is struck from New York ballot over ‘sham’ claim he lives in state

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox

Get our free Inside Washington email

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

Robert F Kennedy Jr has been struck from the presidential ballot in New York over his “sham” claim about his home residence – a move that has now crushed the independent candidate’s hopes of appearing on the ballot in all 50 states.

On Monday, Justice Christina Ryba ruled that RFK Jr had falsified documents listing himself as a New York resident when filing petition papers to be on the ballot in the state.

Ryba concluded that the “address existed only on paper” and that his residence claim was for the “sole purpose of maintaining his voter registration and political standing” in the state.

“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,” she wrote.

The judge ordered that RFK Jr should be disqualified from New York’s ballot over the matter.

RFK Jr’s campaign has already vowed to appeal the ruling, with the independent presidential candidate calling it an “an assault on New York voters who signed in record numbers to place me on their ballot.”

“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.”

He added in a post on X: “This case is an assault on New York voters who signed in record numbers to place me on their ballot. The DNC (Democratic National Committee) has become a party that uses lawfare in place of the democratic election process. We will appeal and we will win.”

Democrats meanwhile welcomed the judge’s ruling, with a statement from DNC spokesperson Matt Corridoni arguing RFK Jr “doesn’t think the rules apply to him and he refuses to consider the consequences of his actions.”

The ruling may lead to RFK Jr being struck from other state ballots as well – dashing his ambitions of being on the ballot nationwide.

Attorneys representing several New York voters, backed by Democrat-aligned Clear Choice PAC, had filed a lawsuit alleging that he falsely claimed to be a New York resident when filing petition papers to be on the ballot in state.

RFK Jr had listed a residence in Katonah, a wealthy Westchester County hamlet, as his home address when filing petition papers to be on the ballot in New York – while actually living in Los Angeles since 2014.

The civil case began in Albany County Supreme Court, in east central New York, on August 5.

The Kennedy dynasty heir took the stand last Tuesday, testifying that his move to California was only temporary so he could be with his wife, actor Cheryl Hines, and that he always planned to return to New York.

The trial was largely overshadowed by RFK Jr’s latest bizarre admissions: that he dumped a dead bear cub in Manhattan’s Central Park and that he has a freezer filled with roadkill.

In a social media video on August 11, featuring comedian Roseanne Barr, RFK Jr said that in 2014 he had dumped a dead bear in Central Park.

He recounted how he saw a car hit the bear in upstate New York, killing it, and so he picked it up to harvest its meat.

An impromptu flight meant he ultimately elected to chuck its rotting carcass in Manhattan – mystifying New Yorkers for a decade.

Days after making the revelation, when a reporter asked RFK Jr about the roadkill bear outside the Albany courthouse last week, he replied: “I’ve been picking up roadkill my whole life.”

“I have a freezer full of it,” he added, prompting laughter from members of the media.

Campaign spokesperson Stefanie Spears said last week that RFK Jr, a falconer who trains ravens and keeps two as pets, uses roadkill to feed his birds.

The third-party nominee was always a longshot candidate but has continued to slide in the polls since Kamala Harris stepped onto the Democratic party’s ticket.

Now, RFK Jr stands at just 3.1 per cent in The Hill’s conflation of 44 polls as of Tuesday morning – a steady decline of more than two points since Harris launched her presidential campaign last month. Harris leads Trump in the polls by almost four points by 47.3 per cent to  43.6 per cent.