Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. v. Caroline Cartwright, et al.

In 2024, New York applied the requirement for candidates to publish their residential address on ballot access petitions to deny Petitioner access to New York’s presidential ballot. Imposing the requirement to publish a private address as a condition precedent for ballot access, as applied to presidential candidates, creates an additional qualification in violation of the Qualifications Clause of the United States Constitution. Further, New York’s residency rules are more stringent than the test for state inhabitancy impairing operation of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The New York Court of Appeals denied Petitioner leave to appeal a decision of the Albany County Supreme Court removing Petitioner from the 2024 New York general election ballot for the sole reason that Petitioner recorded his New York address which failed to comply with New York’s definition of a residential address. The Albany County Supreme Court ruled, and the Appellate Division, Third Department upheld, that the New York State Board of Elections should not list Petitioner on New York’s 2024 presidential general election ballot. The Questions Presented Are:

1. Does N.Y. ELEC. LAW §§ 6-140(1)(a), 1-104(22), acting in tandem, and as applied to presidential and vice-presidential candidates, violate the Qualifications Clause of U.S. CONST. art. II, § 1, cl. 5?

2. Does N.Y. ELEC. LAW §§ 6-140(1)(a), 1-104(22), acting in tandem, and as applied to presidential and vice-presidential candidates, impermissibly impair operation of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution?