President Donald Trump with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
By Dan Murphy
I wanted to vote for RFK Jr. for President last year. I have long been fed up with both major political parties in Washington, and their inability to get things done. Instead, we have democrats advocating for higher spending and republicans demanding tax cuts. The result is a 37 trillion-dollar debt.
Kennedy advocated for many things that I support, like ending the forever wars and having an honest discussion about COVID and the harmful effects of many of the foods we eat.
Although his campaign collected more than double the required 40,000 signatures to get on the ballot in New York, RFK Jr. was kicked off the ballot because he was still registered to vote in New York while living in California.
For thousands of New Yorkers, the result was two choices: Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. For the first time in decades, New Yorkers were not given a third-party choice for President.
Like many Kennedy supporters, I watched RFK Jr. endorse Donald Trump for President. My last two presidential votes (2016 and 2020) were third-party, for the Libertarian party candidate. But in 2024, with no choice, I voted for Trump, and I wonder how many voters across the country did the same. And did those Kennedy voters who followed RFK Jr. to Trump make the difference on election day?
RFK Jr. has explained the reasons why he remains registered to vote in NY. His voter card lists a residence in Katonah. He still maintains a law license and hunting license in New York. He still spends a great deal of time in NY, and he moved to NY 50 years ago, living in Westchester County for most of that time.
Democrats were bitter and angry at RFK Jr. for running for President. His family disavowed his run, and the democratic party halted a presidential primary in favor of re-nominating President Biden.
Kennedy is now set to become Trump’s Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Now comes word that the Westchester Democratic Chair, Suzanne Berger, has filed a complaint against Kennedy for voting in NY for the 2024 Presidential election.
In December, Berger asked NY Attorney General Letitia James and then Westchester DA Mimi Rocah to investigate Kennedy to see if he had committed a crime by voting in NY.
Berger claimed that Kennedy broke NY Election law by voting from an address “ruled to be unusable for the purposes of establishing residency.”
Berger told the Journal News that “voter integrity is an important issue…. People need to know that this is someone who doesn’t play by the rules.”
Perhaps the larger reason Berger filed the complaint was to tarnish Kennedy’s image as he faces US Senate confirmation for his cabinet post.
Usually, law enforcement doesn’t comment on an ongoing investigation. However, Rocah’s office did confirm receipt of Berger’s complaint. No word from the NYAG.
But if, as Berger alleges, Kennedy committed a crime with his vote (for Trump?), he got some help from the Westchester Board of Elections, which mailed Kennedy an absentee ballot to his Katonah address.
RFK Jr. used that absentee ballot to mail in before the election. He is still registered to vote in NY, and his voter registration card has not been purged from the database.
We also wonder if this is an obvious case of selective enforcement if RFK Jr. is ever charged with voter fraud. A review of the instances where the Board of Elections or any law enforcement in NY has investigated and prosecuted any cases of voter fraud in this past election would have to be undertaken.
But is this all worth it? Aren’t the thousands of Kennedy supporters in NY and millions of Kennedy supporters across the country the kind of voters that Democrats need to win back in order to win in 2028?
Is this the best way to accomplish that goal?
