Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate, arrived too late on Tuesday to testify in a Pennsylvania court hearing.
According to The Independent, Kennedy's late arrival was due to a canceled flight from Boston to Philadelphia the previous evening. The hearing was part of a challenge by Democrats attempting to keep Kennedy off the state's ballot for the upcoming election.
The court challenge, filed by two Democratic activists, alleges that Kennedy's candidacy paperwork contains a fake home address and that he hasn't collected the required number of signatures to appear on the ballot. Similar challenges are being heard in other states, including Georgia and New York.
Commonwealth Court Judge Lori Dumas decided to proceed with the hearing despite Kennedy's absence. The presidential hopeful arrived at the Harrisburg courthouse an hour and 40 minutes late, by which time the hearing had already concluded. Judge Dumas adjourned the proceedings without indicating when she would rule on the matter.
Kennedy's attorney criticized the judge's decision to continue without his client's testimony. Outside the courthouse, Kennedy himself expressed his disappointment with the situation, stating:
To me, it's a sad devolution of this party that the only way that they can win elections is to keep its opponents off the debating stage, off the ballots, and use lawfare to try to win elections rather than campaigning. I'll be on the ballot in every state.
Kennedy's campaign has dismissed the challenge as "frivolous," arguing that states should not be in the business of banning candidates from ballots based on residency arguments.
With its 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania is considered a critical battleground state in presidential elections. The outcome of this ballot challenge could have significant implications for the upcoming race. Some analysts suggest that Kennedy's presence on the ballot might draw votes away from either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump.
In the 2016 election, Donald Trump secured a victory in Pennsylvania. However, President Joe Biden managed to win the state back in 2020, further emphasizing its importance in the electoral landscape.
Tim Ford, one of the attorneys representing the activists challenging Kennedy's ballot presence, argued that the candidate's late arrival "shows a total disregard for our process here in Pennsylvania and a disrespect for the voters who have to make the decision of who they're going to vote for for president."
The Pennsylvania case is not an isolated incident for the Kennedy campaign. Similar legal challenges are unfolding in other states, including Georgia and New York. Last week, a New York judge rejected Kennedy's nominating petitions, citing a "sham" address. Kennedy is currently appealing this decision.
At the heart of these challenges is the question of Kennedy's residency. While he has listed an address in New York, challengers argue that he actually resides in Los Angeles, California. Kennedy's legal team contends that the New York address was partly chosen to comply with the 12th Amendment, which states that a president and vice president should not be from the same state. Kennedy's running mate, Nicole Shanahan, is a California resident.
Paul Rossi, Kennedy's lawyer, warned that removing candidates from ballots based on residency arguments could lead to a "patchwork" of state court rulings. He drew parallels to the March Supreme Court decision that reinstated Donald Trump on primary ballots following attempts by some states to remove him using the 14th Amendment.
Despite the ongoing legal challenges, the Kennedy campaign remains optimistic about its ballot access efforts. They claim to have collected the required signatures to appear on ballots in all 50 states. According to the campaign, Kennedy is currently officially on the ballot in 22 states, including key battlegrounds such as North Carolina and Michigan. As the legal proceedings continue, the outcome of these challenges could have far-reaching effects on the upcoming presidential election.
