(The Center Square) — Independent presidential hopeful Robert Kennedy Jr. is vowing to appeal a New York judge's ruling striking him from the November ballot, blasting the move as Democratic interference in the election.
The ruling by Supreme Court justice Christina Ryba concluded that Kennedy falsely claimed a New York residence on his nominating petitions, siding with a Democratic-backed political action committee that challenged Kennedy's candidacy over the residence he listed to qualify for the ballot.
In the 34-page ruling, Ryba cited "clear and convincing credible evidence," that the New York address listed on his nominating petition "was not Kennedy's bona fide and legitimate residence, but merely a 'sham' address that he assumed for the purpose of maintaining his voter registration and furthering his own political aspirations in this state."
Kennedy, 70, argued in court that despite living in California with his wife, New York has been his primary residence for at least 60 years. He offered evidence of his residency by showing that he pays New York state taxes, has a law practice in the state and has state-issued driver's and falconry licenses. He blasted the judge for siding with Democrats to keep him off the 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."
Kennedy said his campaign submitted a "record" 108,680 signatures from voters to get on the state ballot, more than double the 45,000 required. He boasted that his campaign has collected more than 1 million signatures nationwide, "more than any candidate in U.S. history."
"This case is an assault on New York voters who signed in record numbers to place me on their ballot," he said. "The DNC has become a party that uses lawfare in place of the democratic election process."
Kennedy, the son of Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy, announced in October that he was ending his campaign as a Democrat and launching an independent bid for the White House.
He vowed to get on the ballot in every state by the end of July, but so far, he's only made it on the ballot in 16 states, including Maine, Utah, Michigan, Delaware, Oklahoma and Tennessee. His campaign says he has collected enough signatures to get on the ballot in 23 other states.
Democrats have filed similar challenges to keep Kennedy off the November ballot amid concerns that he would siphon away votes from Vice President Kamala Harris and act as a "spoiler candidate" to help Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president.
Last week, a New Jersey judge ruled that Kennedy could appear on the November ballot after rejecting a legal challenge claiming he is disqualified under the state's 'sore loser' law.
"Robert Kennedy Jr. is a fraud through and through," Democratic National Committee spokesman Matt Corridoni said in a statement. "He’s a fraud when he claims to live in NY, despite moving to CA ten years ago. And he’s a fraud when he says he’s in this race for any reason other than being a spoiler for Donald Trump."
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