By MICHAEL HILL
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York election officials are being urged to investigate whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr. committed voter fraud by casting his November ballot from a discredited address, as the former independent presidential candidate seeks Senate confirmation for a top public health role in the Trump administration.
Accountable.US, a progressive watchdog group, this week asked the state Division of Election Law Enforcement to determine whether Kennedy committed any felony by using an address in New York City’s well-to-do suburbs to vote by mail in the last election.
A state judge last summer knocked Kennedy off the presidential ballot in New York after finding the rented bedroom in Katonah he claimed as his residence was a “sham” address. The judge said evidence showed the scion of the famed Democratic political dynasty actually resided in California, where he has a home with his wife, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actor Cheryl Hines.
Kennedy unsuccessfully appealed the judge’s ruling.
The complaint filed with the elections office said public records show Kennedy was registered to vote last November at the same address the judge invalidated and that he voted by mail.
“As the defendant in this case, Mr. Kennedy was clearly aware of the verdicts holding that he was not a legal resident of this Katonah address. Despite this undisputable knowledge, Mr. Kennedy voted from the property anyway,” according to the complaint dated Monday.
Kennedy is now President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. He is expected to face tough questioning for promoting anti-vaccine views.
An email seeking comment was sent Thursday to New York’s election enforcement division.
A call was made to Trump’s transition team and a text was sent to RFK Jr.’s former campaign spokesperson also seeking comment.
Kennedy testified in the initial case that he moved to California a decade ago so he could be with his wife, and that he always planned to return to New York. He said he rented a room in a friend’s home in Katonah, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Midtown Manhattan, though had only slept in that room once due to his constant campaign travel.
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