A judge ruled Monday that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely represented himself as a New York resident on his nominating petition, invalidating the paperwork he needed to appear on the state’s ballot.
The ruling, handed down by Judge Christina Ryba after a brief hearing in state court, is expected to be appealed. If upheld, it could pave the way for lawsuits in other states where Kennedy used an address in suburban northern New York City to gather signatures.
The lawsuit, backed by a Democratic political action committee, alleges that Kennedy’s state nominating petition falsely stated he lives in affluent Katonah, when in fact he has lived in the Los Angeles area since marrying “Crazy Energy” actress Cheryl Hines in 2014.
During his trial, Kennedy maintained he had lifelong ties to New York and intended to return.
During the trial, which lasted less than four days, Mr. Kennedy claimed he had lived in New York since he was 10 years old and was currently renting a room at a friend’s house in Katonah, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of midtown Manhattan, but testified that he had only slept in the room once because of his frequent campaign travels.
The 70-year-old candidate testified that he moved to California 10 years ago to be with his wife and had always planned to return to New York, where he is registered to vote.
Barbara Moss, who rented the apartment to Kennedy, testified that he paid her $500 a month, but she acknowledged that there was no written lease and that Kennedy only made his first payment after the New York Post ran a story casting doubt on the claim that Kennedy lived at the address.
The judge also heard testimony from a longtime friend of Kennedy’s who said the candidate had regularly stayed at his Westchester home from 2014 to 2017 but was not a tenant as Kennedy claimed.
Lawyers representing several New York voters grilled Kennedy in often heated exchanges to make their case, pointing to government documents such as a federal candidacy filing that lists a California address, as well as social media videos in which he says he trains ravens at his Los Angeles home.
Kennedy’s name recognition and loyal base give him the chance to do better than any independent presidential candidate in decades, and Democratic and Republican strategists have expressed concern that he could hurt their party’s chances of victory.
Kennedy’s campaign says he has enough signatures to qualify in most states, but his ballot initiative faces challenges and lawsuits in several states, including North Carolina and New Jersey.
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The super PAC Clear Choice filed the lawsuit on behalf of several New York voters.
Kennedy told reporters last week that being removed from the ballot in New York could lead to lawsuits in other states where he listed the same address on his campaign trail.
After the trial ended on Thursday, Kennedy argued that people who signed the petition should be given the opportunity to vote for him.
“The American people want me to be on the ballot. They want to have a choice,” he said.
