081215 Caroline Kennedy Sat Out Several Elections

New York (AP) - Caroline Kennedy, who is seeking to fill Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate seat, has not voted in a number of elections, including at least one race for the very job she's seeking.

The Democrat registered at her current address on Manhattan's Upper East Side in 1988. According to city Board of Elections records, she missed several Democratic mayoral primaries - typically important contests in left-leaning New York City - in 1989, 1993, 1997 and 2005. Republicans went on to win three out of four of those races in the general election.

She also missed the 2002 gubernatorial primary and general election, when Democrat H. Carl McCall faced Republican incumbent George Pataki and lost.

And she skipped the 1994 general election, when Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan was running for re-election for the same seat she hopes to take over if Clinton is confirmed as secretary of state in President-elect Barack Obama's administration.

Kennedy, who belongs to one of America's most illustrious political families, has been working to shore up support to convince Gov. David Paterson she's best qualified for appointment to the Senate.

Her spokesman, Stefan Friedman, said Friday that Kennedy "recognizes just how important it is to vote and has a very strong record of going to the polls." He added, "She has not voted on a handful of occasions over the last two decades."

Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, did vote in this year's primary and general elections. She voted in the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004.

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