One week from tomorrow, New York will hold its Democratic and Republican primaries. With the state being home to frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, we can expect photo-ops of these candidates voting for themselves.
But one of the things we won’t see is a photo-op of Ivanka or Eric Trump voting for their dad.
You see, New York has a closed primary, meaning that only registered Republicans will have a chance to vote for Trump next week. This is a problem for Ivanka, who is registered to vote but is not affiliated with a political party. It’s an even bigger problem for Eric, as it’s unclear if he is registered to vote at all.
Either way, it’s hard to heap too much blame on them. New York’s voter registration deadline for voting in next week’s primary was March 30th, and the deadline to update partisan affiliation was October 9th of last year — over six months ago. New York has the earliest cutoff for updating partisan affiliation in the country (though it’s unclear what the eligibility rules are for someone moves to the state in between the two deadlines and registers with a party).
That doesn’t mean they, and their dad, aren’t embarrassed. From TalkingPointsMemo:
Donald and Ivanka Trump, via Wikimedia Commons
Asked if they were “unable to register because of the rules,” Trump replied his children, who are both New York City natives, missed the deadline to register.
“They had a longtime register and they were, you know, unaware of the rules, and they didn’t register in time,” Trump told the hosts of “Fox and Friends.” “So they feel very, very guilty.”
He continued: “They feel very guilty. But it’s fine. I understand that. I think they have to register a year in advance and they didn’t. So Eric and Ivanka, I guess, won’t be voting.”
To be clear, failing to register to vote for a member of your own family is an impressive display of civic apathy — especially when you spend four months making videos explaining how important it is to register and vote for Donald Trump. This episode also underscores the fact that Trump garners disproportionate support from adults who have been less likely to engage with the political process in the past. It’s one of the reasons he has performed better in open primaries like New Hampshire and worse in caucuses like Wyoming and closed primaries like Utah.
To be clearer, though, voter registration deadlines are anachronistic and undemocratic. In 2012, state-by-state voter registration deadlines kept as many as four million would-be voters from casting ballots. The Trumps’ case is funny and ironic given their last name, but it is far from unique.
In short, New York’s voter registration deadline could cost Trump more than two votes next week.
