RFK Jr. ballot access could be threatened in more than a dozen states after New York rejection

In the wake of Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s failure to qualify for ballot access in New York , his ballot access in other states may also be threatened.

New York Supreme Court Justice Christina Ryba ruled in favor of Clear Choice PAC and found Kennedy violated New York state law by listing a New York address as his residence on the ballot access petition despite living in California. Kennedy listed a New York address because his running mate is also from California, and having both candidates on a ballot from the same state could cause electoral problems.

Following the New York high court’s decision against him, Kennedy told reporters his ballot access in other states could also be threatened due to the ruling.

It is unclear at this time if Kennedy used the New York address in all of his petitions to gain ballot access. The Washington Examiner reached out to the Kennedy campaign but did not hear back at the time of publication. The judge ruled the bedroom Kennedy listed as his residence was a "sham."

“Given the size and appearance of the spare bedroom as shown in the photographs admitted into evidence, the court finds Kennedy’s testimony that he may return to that bedroom to reside with his wife, family members, multiple pets, and all of his personal belongings to be highly improbable, if not preposterous,” the judge wrote.

Until Monday’s ruling in New York, Kennedy had defeated legal challenges to his ballot access in six other states. Clear Choice said they are opening challenges in Illinois and Pennsylvania that will also center on Kennedy’s residency.

In the wake of the ruling, however, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said she would consider an objection to Kennedy’s petition in that state, which includes a challenge to Kennedy’s listed New York residency. On Tuesday, however, she dismissed the matter and canceled the scheduled hearing after the person who challenged Kennedy's petition withdrew their challenge.

Kennedy and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, an attorney in Silicon Valley, are on the ballot in 18 states and in the process of getting ballot access in 21 states. They did not qualify for one state’s ballot, New York. The Kennedy campaign has pledged to be on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and recently announced they have signatures for each remaining state and Washington, D.C.

With his current ballot access, Kennedy could hypothetically win 220 electoral votes out of the 270 needed to win a presidential election.

While Kennedy could have run on his California residence, constitutional challenges emerged, as the 12th Amendment prohibits two people from the same state from being voted upon by that state should they win the state in the presidential election. While it is unlikely that Kennedy and Shanahan would win California, losing out on 55 electoral votes would be catastrophic.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Democrats and their allies have been targeting Kennedy's ballot access in states across the country, including in Texas , Washington , and Pennsylvania . Clear Choice Action, a Democrat-aligned political action committee, was the primary backing behind the New York legal challenge.

In terms of access to key battleground and swing states, Kennedy is on the ballot in Michigan and North Carolina. He is working on gaining ballot access in Georgia, Nevada, and Wisconsin. It is unclear what the status of his quest to gain ballot access in Arizona currently is.