The Supreme Court has denied Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s request to be reinstated on New York’s ballot for the 2024 presidential election. The decision follows Kennedy’s suspension of his campaign in August and his subsequent endorsement of former President Donald Trump. In a brief unsigned order issued on Friday, the Court provided no recorded dissents against the decision
Kennedy initially announced his presidential bid in 2023, first as a Democrat and later as an Independent. Despite gathering the required number of signatures to appear on the New York ballot, his candidacy encountered a legal hurdle. Several voters supported by Clear Choice Action, a group aligned with the Democratic Party, challenged Kennedy’s ballot status, citing that he had listed an address in Katonah, N.Y., where he rented a room from a childhood friend and stayed overnight just once. They argued that Kennedy’s actual residence is in Los Angeles.
A New York court ruled that the address on Kennedy’s nominating petition was a “sham address” used to maintain voter registration and support his political aspirations in New York. After the state’s highest court rejected his appeal, New York’s board of elections certified a ballot for the November election excluding Kennedy’s name. Amy Howe of SCOTUSblog provides a detailed account of these proceedings.
Unable to obtain relief in federal court, Kennedy turned to the Supreme Court. He cited the Court’s 1983 ruling in Anderson v. Celebrezze, where the justices ruled that Ohio’s filing deadline for an independent presidential candidate burdened supporters’ freedom of choice and association. Kennedy’s campaign argued that the address requirement was immaterial for his presidential run and violated the constitutional provision specifying the presidential requirements, asserting that states like New York cannot impose additional residency requirements.
New York opposed Kennedy’s request, arguing that it was too late as the ballots had already been certified and distributed to military and overseas voters. New York Solicitor General Barbara Underwood highlighted that reinstating Kennedy would disrupt the state’s electoral processes, potentially causing voter confusion and disenfranchising voters who had already received the original ballot.
The denial of Kennedy’s request aligns with another recent Supreme Court action, where the Court upheld a ruling by the Nevada Supreme Court to keep the Green Party off Nevada’s ballot for the 2024 elections. For further context, the full article can be found on SCOTUSblog.