Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential campaign was dealt a blow on Monday when a judge ruled that his petition to get on New York’s ballot was invalid, saying Mr. Kennedy had used a “sham” address to maintain his New York residency.
The ruling, if it stands, would kick Mr. Kennedy off the ballot in a state where he lived for much of his adult life, and could endanger his efforts to get on the ballot in all 50 states. He has three days to appeal the decision by a judge in Albany, N.Y.
His lawyer, William F. Savino, said in an email that Mr. Kennedy “always planned to appeal any adverse ruling.”
A group of New York residents — backed by Clear Choice, a Democrat-aligned political action committee — had challenged Mr. Kennedy’s New York residency, arguing that his campaign had used a false address on the tens of thousands of nominating petitions it circulated and submitted to get him on the ballot.
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Representatives for the Kennedy campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Saturday, the campaign sent an email describing the case as “a shameless bid to eliminate a strong contender from the race.”
Clear Choice said the ruling “makes clear that Mr. Kennedy lied about his residency and provided a false address on his filing papers and candidate petitions in New York, intentionally misleading election officials and betraying voters’ trust.”
The decision, by Justice Christina L. Ryba, a state Supreme Court judge, could lead to other challenges in states where Mr. Kennedy is on the ballot, because his campaign used the same address to gather signatures there.
