Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent the past month waging multiple legal battles regarding be included on, or taken off of, ballots across several states.
In one of the few states where Kennedy wanted to be included on — at least while he was running — a Supreme Court justice rejected his appeal after lower courts decided he would not be included on the ballot.
According to NPR, as a result of SCOTUS deciding to reject his appeal, Kennedy will not be included on the ballot in New York.
The ruling was nothing short of a massive win for Vice President Kamala Harris, who would have undoubtedly lost votes to Kennedy in the otherwise reliably blue state.
What happened?
The battle originally began after there was a dispute, filed by Democrats, regarding Kennedy’s inclusion on the New York ballot. Those filing suit to block his inclusion argued that his residency requirement was not legitimate.
Ultimately, he was added to the ballot by state officials until Democrats took legal action based on his residency situation.
NPR noted:
But multiple individuals with ties to the Democratic party challenged Kennedy’s addition to the ballot, and two New York state courts ordered Kennedy removed from the ballot, finding that he used an invalid address on the nominating petition.
The residency requirement for minor party candidates in New York requires they list their “fixed, permanent and principal home,” to which the candidate “always intends to return.”
The issue is that Kennedy’s fixed, permanent home is in Los Angeles with his wife, and his only residency in New York was a room he was renting from a friend, where he admitted he’s only stayed overnight one time.
NPR added:
Although he is registered to vote at the New York address, he concedes he has stayed there overnight on only “one occasion.” Although Kennedy asserted that he always intended to return to the Empire State after his wife’s “Hollywood career is over,” the New York appellate division ruled that the New York room Kennedy rents was not his “fixed and permanent” home. The court thus ruled invalid his petition, and struck his name from the ballot.
Kennedy’s defense
The former candidate, who now endorses Trump, asked the Supreme Court to block the lower courts’ rulings.
He argued that such requirements place a “severe burden” on minor party candidates.
As far as his battles regarding ballots, Kennedy has attempted to have his name removed from several swing state ballots, where his name on the ballot could ultimately hurt Trump in November.
So far, he has not prevailed in making that happen across the board. Only time will tell if it makes a major difference.
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Author: Ryan Ledendecker
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