Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is off the New York presidential ballot, at least for now.
New York State Supreme Court Justice Christina Ryba of Albany decided against the independent candidate late Monday, ruling that the Westchester County address of a friend he listed on his ballot petitions is a “sham” meant to “further his political ambitions in this state.”
The decision, if upheld, would remove Kennedy from the New York presidential race and threatens to upend his political campaign, which used the same Katonah address to register for the ballot in other states
But Kennedy has promised an immediate appeal that could work its way up to the Court of Appeals, the state’s top court.
At the end of his four-day trial in Albany last week, Kennedy issued a statement calling the case “an assault on New York voters” who placed him on their ballot.
“They aren’t confident they can win at the ballot box, so they are trying to stop voters from having a choice,” Kennedy said in a statement on Monday. “We will appeal and we will win.”
The lawsuit, filed by a group of New York voters, is backed by Clear Choice Action, a Democrat-aligned group created to push back against third-party candidates.
It challenged whether Kennedy could plausibly claim a house on Croton Lake Road in Katonah — about 40 miles north of Midtown Manhattan — as his official residence.
At trial, Kennedy revealed he’s slept at the home only once, according to the Times Union of Albany. It’s owned by Barbara Moss, and Kennedy paid $6,000 in rent, but only after the New York Post published a story questioning whether he actually lived in the home, which has been subject to recent foreclosure proceedings.
Kennedy, in a video on his Facebook page last week, said he has considered New York home since 1964, when his father moved to the state to run for Senate. He and his wife, actor Cheryl Hines, purchased a home in California a decade ago.
But Kennedy said the plan has always been to return to New York after Hines retires from acting — which he says is enough to establish a a continuous connection to the state sufficient to establish official residency. He said his attorneys advised him that claiming a California residence could have raised residency questions, too, since his voter registration and law license are in New York.
“I always kept New York residence because I love New York, it’s part of who I am, it’s part of my identity,” he said.
If Kennedy follows through with his appeal, his case would move on to the state Appellate Division. From there, he or his opponents could appeal to the Court of Appeals, depending on whether the judges on the mid-level court are unanimous or split.