Impartial presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might face a setback in his bid to get on the poll in all 50 states by claiming New York as his residence — regardless of barely displaying up at his purported Westchester domicile that’s at present in foreclosures proceedings for non-payment, authorized specialists instructed The Put up Monday.
The Post reported Sunday that Kennedy, 70, claims residency at 84 Croton Lake Street in Katonah, regardless of not proudly owning the multi-million greenback property, not often visiting the handle, and permitting the house — which is property of his pal Timothy Haydock’s spouse Barbara Moss — to probably be repossessed.
Information present Kennedy claimed to be registered on the handle whereas voting in elections between 2008 and 2020, however neighbors stated they had been shocked to search out out he had claimed residency there.
“Voting in another person’s residence doesn’t make the handle you set down reliable,” veteran election lawyer Jerry Goldfeder instructed The Put up.
“It sounds fairly questionable that it’s a bona fide residence,” Goldfeder added. “I think about his New York petitions will probably be challenged sooner or later.”
“Somebody is sprinkling the bread crumbs for a residency problem,” agreed election legislation lawyer John Ciampoli, who reps the state Senate Republican Marketing campaign Committee and a few Democratic candidates. “They’re going to assert the residency on his petition [for president] is a false residency.”
Beneath Empire State legislation, impartial presidential candidates should file a petition by Might 28 with 45,000 signatures — together with 500 in every of at the very least 13 congressional districts — and embrace their residence handle.
Kennedy doesn’t present up as a resident in searches of the Katonah handle, however he does seem in property searches of addresses in Los Angeles — the place he resides along with his spouse, actress Cheryl Hines — and Foxborough, Mass.
Late Sunday, RFK Jr.’s marketing campaign claimed to The Put up that “84 Croton Street is Mr. Kennedy’s official handle. He receives mail there. His driver’s license is registered there. His vehicle is registered there. His voting registration is from there. His looking, fishing, falconry, and wildlife rehabilitation licenses are from there. He pays hire to the proprietor.”
The marketing campaign added that New York has been Kennedy’s residence state since 1968 and he has lived within the city of Bedford, which incorporates the village of Katonah, “repeatedly for 40 years.”
Opposite to official information, the marketing campaign then claimed RFK Jr. had solely transferred his residence to Croton Lake Street in June of final yr. For the earlier 9 years, it stated, the candidate’s handle was on Twin Lakes Street in Bedford, the place he “usually stayed … two occasions every month.”
“When Mr. Kennedy announced his presidential candidacy, that landlord, anxious about turning into embroiled in political controversy, requested Mr. Kennedy to search out one other residence,” the marketing campaign defined. “Mr. Kennedy’s greatest pal invited him to maneuver into his Croton Lake Street residence through which Mr. Kennedy had been a frequent visitor.”
The handle snafu is prone to current one other impediment to Kennedy’s bid for poll entry, as he listed the Croton Lake Street handle as his “domicile” in his petition to be listed in New Hampshire for the Nov. 5 contest.
To have a “domicile” in New York, one generally must intend for that address to be their everlasting residence and for the handle to be the place the place one intends to return residence after being away. (The Kennedy marketing campaign instructed The Put up that’s the plan “after his spouse retires from performing.”)
However proving residence fraud could show tough, election lawyer Sarah Steiner stated, arguing, “the burden of proof is on the challenger relating to residency.”
domicile.
Steiner additionally famous Kennedy is looking for federal workplace fairly than a state or native place, making the residency query much less necessary.
“It might be extraordinarily tough to assault his residency throughout a presidential race,” she stated. “I don’t doubt for a second that he makes use of that home that a lot. However he’s not such as you and me.”
Kennedy purchased his LA property in 2021 for $6.6 million, and was at residence with Hines when stalker Jonathan Macht broke into their in October of last year.
If Kennedy is discovered to be a resident of California, that may even be problematic for his slim probabilities of pulling an upset, since his working mate, Nicole Shanahan can also be a Golden State resident.
Beneath the Twelfth Modification, electors can’t vote for 2 folks from their residence their residence state, probably taking California’s 54 votes off the ticket for the impartial candidate.
Moss didn’t instantly reply to an inquiry from The Put up.
