A legal challenge seeking to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from the November ballot in Pennsylvania claims the former Democrat misled voters when requesting signatures by claiming to live in New York despite actually living in California.
The challenge says the Kennedy campaign displayed “a fundamental disregard” for Pennsylvania’s election system because the candidate “provided the wrong address” on his affidavit and nomination papers, allegedly “with the intent to deceive Pennsylvania voters.”
Kennedy accomplished the alleged deceit by providing a New York address rather than the address of his California home.
The complaint argues the Kennedy campaign incorrectly listed the New York address as the candidate’s home because both Kennedy and his vice presidential nominee, Nicole Shanahan, reside in California full time.
If the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket won California, it would nonetheless be required to surrender the state’s 54 votes in the Electoral College because of the 12th Amendment.
“Candidate Kennedy’s deceit is essential to his campaign, which has promised to be different from other independent presidential campaigns by appearing on the ballot in all fifty states – including California,” the complaint claims.
The complaint also claims that the Kennedy campaign used tape to cover part of 287 signature sheets with a new piece of paper, which the challenge argues makes it impossible to determine whether voters knew they were signing a petition for the presidential candidate to gain ballot access in Pennsylvania.
Furthermore, the complaint alleges Kennedy’s signatures contain “numerous ineligible signatures and defects.”
Kennedy’s campaign originally submitted signatures to qualify for ballot access in the Keystone State in June, when it reported submitting nearly twice the required number of signatures.
Alexander Reber and Janneken Smucker, their attorneys, filed a challenge to his candidacy in Pennsylvania.
Reber appears to be an accountant for the Harrisburg-based Miller Dixon and Drake firm. He previously served as a Democratic delegate to nominate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for president at the party’s convention in 2016, when the campaign published an article about his support for Clinton’s stances on health insurance, gay marriage, and “green jobs” on the website Medium.
Biographical information from the Miller Dixon and Drake website explains that Reber is the firm’s managing partner and lists “campaign finance” as one of his areas of expertise, adding that Reber “served as Treasurer for local, state and federal [political action committees].”
Smucker, meanwhile, appears to be a Professor of History at West Chester University, whose website contains biographical information revealing the educator enjoys “traveling beyond national borders, and is glad to be a global citizen.”
Reber’s previous affiliation with Pennsylvania Democrats could cause party members to view Kennedy’s candidacy as a threat to Vice President Kamala Harris, and surfaces amid polling which shows former President Donald Trump doing better in battleground state surveys which include Kennedy and other candidates.
After the challenges were filed, Kennedy campaign attorney Larry Otter told ABC News the complaint “makes specious allegations” and argued its author “is obviously not familiar with the process of amending a circulator’s affidavit, which seems to be the gist of his complaint.”
Challenges have also been raised against Constitution Party nominee James Clymer and Socialism and Liberation nominee Claudia De la Cruz.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Robert F Kennedy Jr.” by Robert F Kennedy Jr. Background Photo “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with Ballots” by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
