Washington — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has asked the Supreme Court to reinstate his name on New York’s ballot, despite ending his campaign and endorsing former President Donald Trump.
The independent presidential candidate was disqualified from New York’s ballot in August after a judge determined that Kennedy’s connections to the New York address “existed only on paper and were maintained for the sole purpose of maintaining his voter registration and political standing” in the state.
Lower courts have rejected his attempts to challenge the decision.
In his emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, Kennedy argued that his supporters in the state “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.”
“The address on Kennedy’s petition was and is entirely immaterial — both to voters and to New York,” his attorneys wrote, arguing that none of Kennedy’s supporters were being misled by the address.
The Katonah, New York, address belongs to a friend of Kennedy’s. The friend testified that Kennedy paid her $500 a month for the room beginning in May. Both the friend and Kennedy’s court filing said the presidential candidate has only spent one night at the home.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who is handling the emergency appeal, requested a response from New York elections officials by Wednesday afternoon.
Kennedy suspended his campaign in August and said he would remove his name from the ballot in 10 states, including the seven battleground states, where he thought his candidacy would harm Trump’s chances of winning the election. Kennedy said his name would remain on the ballot in non-battleground states and encouraged voters there to still vote for him.
But since then, Kennedy has said his supporters in all states should vote for Trump and requested his name be removed from the ballot in more states than just those that are closely contested.
Kennedy’s name won’t appear on the ballot in nearly 20 states, while he’ll be listed on the ballot in more than 30, according to the latest tally from CBS News.
Kennedy’s request is the latest election dispute to come before the Supreme Court. The high court recently rejected a bid to put Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein on Nevada’s ballot.