RFK Jr. claims it’s unconstitutional to make him say where he lives

New York’s election law violates the Constitution by requiring “a candidate for President of the United States to indicate his ‘place of residence’ in his nominating petition,” the five-page opinion said.

The provisions of the Constitution governing federal elections do not provide for such a request for an address, the notice said.

“The Constitution spells out what the president’s qualifications are, and the states can’t add to those qualifications,” Kennedy’s lawyer, Gary L. Donovan, told Business Insider.

Kennedy’s notice of appeal was filed in response to a 34-page ruling by New York State Supreme Court Justice Christina Ryba, who found on Monday that the independent candidate lives in California but falsely claimed to live in about 40 miles north of Manhattan in upstate Westchester County. . The falsity invalidated Kennedy’s nominating petitions, the judge found.

The spare bedroom Kennedy rented rent-free in a house owned by friends in Katonah, New York, was not a “legitimate and legitimate residence, but merely a ‘fake’ address he assumed in the purpose of maintaining his voter registration”. and promoting her political aspirations, she wrote in her decision.

Kennedy actually lives in California with his wife, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actor Cheryl Hines, the judge found after presiding over a four-day non-jury trial last week.

During his testimony at trial, Kennedy “was shown a photo of the spare bedroom he claimed to be renting,” the judge wrote in her decision. “He testified that none of the furniture or bedding was his.”

He also confessed that he plans to one day move into the spare bedroom with Hines, his extensive book collection and his many exotic pets—including his pet raven—once Hines retires from acting, ” if convenient at the time”. according to a transcript excerpt.

“If not, I’ll find a house nearby,” he added from the witness stand.

A “weird” call.

“It’s bizarre,” said former New York Democratic state senator Martin Connor, who practiced election law for fifty years, when told of Kennedy’s notice of appeal and her claim that the Constitution protected him from having to pronounce an address.

Residency under New York’s election law has become very loose over the years, Connor said. Still, applicants must declare a specific address somewhere in the country “that’s probably yours and more than an email submission,” he said.

Election officials need to know where to contact a candidate if there are flaws in their petition, and if someone wants to challenge the petition in court, they need to know where to send the papers, he said.

“The real question is, without an address, how do we know who the hell you are?” Connor said. “What if there are more John Smiths — or more Robert Kennedys?”

As for arguing that the Constitution doesn’t require presidential candidates to declare their addresses — and neither should states — Connor noted that the founding fathers left the specifics of how to conduct elections to the states. “The Constitution doesn’t say how you get to vote in New York or any state. However, each state has rules for that,” he said.

Kennedy first argued last month that New York’s election law is unconstitutional in that it requires an address from candidates filing nomination petitions for president and vice president. The provisions of the Constitution governing federal elections make no mention of the “place of residence” requirement, his lawyers argued.

The judge denied the request shortly before the trial began. Afterward, she didn’t mince words in declaring that Kennedy’s purported address was a fiction.

She wrote in her decision that “Kennedy’s testimony that none of the furniture, bedding, and other decorative items in the spare bedroom belonged to him, as well as his testimony that his wife and family, his extensive book collection, and his wide assortment of the domestic and exotic animals all remained in California, was compelling evidence that Kennedy lacked the requisite physical presence and intent to remain” at the residence.

The lawsuit challenging the 70-year-old candidate’s nominating petition was filed late last month by a group of New York voters backed by Clear Choice Action, a Democratic-aligned super PAC.

The group identified 18 states where Kennedy’s presence on the ballot could face similar challenges, according to Mother Jones.