Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has asked the Supreme Court to restore his name to the New York ballot despite suspending his campaign this summer and throwing his support behind former President Donald Trump.
His name was disqualified from the Empire State’s ballot last month after it was found his New York address was determined to only existed "on paper and were maintained for the sole purpose of maintaining his voter registration and political standing" in New York.
His challenges have been rejected in lower courts, so he has now appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing his supporters in New York "have a constitutional right to have Kennedy placed on the ballot — and to vote for him, whether he is campaigning for their vote or not."
Lower courts excluded the former independent candidate from the ballot after finding he falsely claimed residency in the state because his Katonah, N.Y., address was not his fixed and permanent residency.
Kennedy indicated in court filings that he has rented a room in the home from a childhood friend and stayed overnight on one occasion. His attorneys noted lower courts “did not find that anyone was misled,” insisting that taking him off the ballot was irrevocably depriving Kennedy’s New York supporters of their right to vote for him. […]By default, the emergency request went to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who handles emergency appeals arising from New York. She requested New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and others involved in the case respond in writing by Wednesday afternoon. (The Hill)
His attorneys said the dispute over the address on Kennedy’s petition “was and is entirely immaterial—both to voters and to New York.”
When Kennedy initially suspended his campaign last month, he said he would get his name removed from battleground states, but has since gotten it taken off ballots in other states as well. The Democrat-turned-independent has urged all of his supporters to vote for Trump as the only way to get him to Washington.
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