Current:Home > NewsDemocrats seek to disqualify Kennedy and others from Georgia presidential ballots -MacroWatch
Democrats seek to disqualify Kennedy and others from Georgia presidential ballots
View
Date:2025-04-17 07:36:19
ATLANTA (AP) — Challengers seeking to throw Robert F. Kennedy Jr. off Georgia’s November ballot told a judge on Monday that the independent presidential candidate must be disqualified because the New York address he used on Georgia ballot access petitions is a “sham.”
It shows how a decision by a New York court last week finding Kennedy doesn’t live at the address in the New York City suburbs is being used to attack Kennedy’s ballot access in other states. The judge ruled Kennedy shouldn’t appear on New York ballots, but Kennedy is appealing.
In Georgia, challengers argue that because Kennedy used the New York address on petitions needed for an independent to qualify, his petitions should be voided.
“The court found, by clear and convincing evidence that petitioners had shown that his New York residence was a sham used for political purposes,” lawyer Adam Sparks said after a Monday hearing in Atlanta. “He doesn’t live there. He claimed to on each and every sheet of his petition here in Georgia. That’s improper. It invalidates the petition, full stop.”
But a lawyer for Kennedy presented Michael Malihi, an administrative law judge, with Kennedy’s voting history as evidence of his New York residency.
“Mr. Kennedy has been a lifelong resident of the state of New York,” lawyer Larry Otter said.
Otter said the challengers are improperly trying to impose additional qualifications on a presidential candidate beyond those listed in the U.S. Constitution — that a person be at least 35 years old, be born in the United States, and live in the country at least 14 years. Otter said recent court decisions support his position.
Sparks also challenged Kennedy’s status as an independent. He argued that because Kennedy is running as the nominee of several parties in other states — including Kennedy’s own “We the People Party” — that Kennedy doesn’t qualify as an independent under Georgia law.
“They circumvent requirements for qualification in Georgia by gaming the system,” Sparks said.
Otter said the other parties aren’t present in Georgia.
Democrats are also challenging ballot places for independent candidate Cornel West, the Green Party, which has nominated Jill Stein, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Claudia De la Cruz.
While none of those candidates are likely to win Georgia’s 16 electoral votes, independent and third-party candidates could tip Georgia’s balance away from Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. Joe Biden won Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes in 2020.
Georgia counties have determined that Kennedy, West and De la Cruz each collected at least 7,500 signatures to qualify. Stein hopes to use a new Georgia law awarding a ballot place to candidates of a party who qualify in at least 20 other states.
Malihi heard two challenges to Kennedy on Monday, as well as a challenge to De la Cruz. He’ll hear challenges Thursday to West and the Green Party. Malihi will issue findings to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who will make a final ruling. A decision must be made before Georgia mails military and overseas ballots beginning Sept. 17.
Lawyers for Democrats argue that each of De la Cruz’s and Kennedy’s 16 electors needed to file separate nomination petitions. Lawyers for the candidates disputed this interpretation Monday, saying it’s wrong to believe the campaign would need 120,000 signatures.
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Today’s news: Follow live updates from the campaign trail from the AP.
- Ground Game: Sign up for AP’s weekly politics newsletter to get it in your inbox every Monday.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
A lawyer for Democrats said the petitions have illegal formatting errors, and argued that just because Raffensperger’s office accepted them doesn’t mean they are legally sound. De la Cruz’s lawyer said the judge should defer to the agency’s interpretation
Estevan Hernandez, a Georgia volunteer for De la Cruz, criticized Democrats for challenging other candidates with technical arguments, saying it’s “an undemocratic maneuver.”
“One rich lawyer with the backing of the Democratic Party machine is trying to override the clear intent for these 15,000-plus people to have Claudia De la Cruz on the ballot,” Hernandez said after the hearing.
Georgia is one of more than a half-dozen states where challenges have been made by Democrats and allies to Kennedy’s petitions. Kennedy’s campaign says it has enough signatures for ballot access in all 50 states, but access is being challenged in Georgia and elsewhere.
In Pennsylvania, challengers contend Kennedy’s false address for nominating papers disregards state law. An attorney for Kennedy said the challenge contained specious allegations. A court will conduct a hearing Tuesday.
Robert Wittenstein, a suburban Atlanta man who brought one of the challenges against Kennedy, declined to say who was paying for it. The other two challenges heard Monday were coordinated by the state Democratic Party.
Clear Choice Action, a Democrat-aligned political action committee, has backed the lawsuits in New York and some other states.
“The truth of the matter is, I think people ought to play by the rules, and that’s important,” Wittenstein said after the hearing.
veryGood! (4771)
Related
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- Issey Miyake displays canvas of colors at Paris Fashion Week
- Mike McCarthy will return as Dallas Cowboys head coach, despite stunning playoff ouster
- British leader Sunak urges Parliament’s upper house to swiftly pass Rwanda migration plan
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- A sticking point in border security negotiations is humanitarian parole. Here’s what that means
- Slovakian president sharply criticizes changes to penal code proposed by populist prime minister
- Two officers shot, man killed by police in gunfire exchange at Miami home, officials say
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- 'The Last Fire Season' describes what it was like to live through Calif.'s wildfires
Ranking
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- Could Elon Musk become world's first trillionaire? Oxfam report says someone might soon
- Think you can stay off your phone? One company will pay you $10,000 to do a digital detox
- Israel’s president and the OpenAI CEO will take part in Davos on Day 3 of the World Economic Forum
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- What cities are most at risk of a strong earthquake? Here's what USGS map shows
- Rare coins and part of ancient aqueduct built by Roman emperor unearthed in Greece
- Haitian university officials face investigation over allegations of sexual abuse
Recommendation
Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
Britain's King Charles III seeks treatment for enlarged prostate, Buckingham Palace says
Hungary won’t back down and change LGBTQ+ and asylum policies criticized by EU, minister says
What to know about the Justice Department’s report on police failures in the Uvalde school shooting
Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
Patriots coach Jerod Mayo lays out vision for new era: 'I'm not trying to be Bill' Belichick
German far-right party assailed over report of extremist meeting
Swingers want you to know a secret. Swinging is not just about sex.