As the New York primary election quickly approaches, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is once again in the spotlight. However, this time it is Trump’s children that are under fire.  

Because NY’s primary is closed, Trump’s two children, Ivanka, 34, and Eric, 32, will not be able to vote for their father on April 19. 

Within each state there is either an open, closed or mixed primary election.  Open and mixed primaries vary in the rules intended to restrict voting by party. However, in a closed election, one must claim association with a party before the voting takes place. Only those affiliated with the party may vote in that party’s primary if it is closed.

NY’s primary is not only closed, but is also one of the strictest in the country compared to the other states’ closed primaries. An eligible citizen not yet registered to vote in NY had until March 25 to list his or her affiliation. For already registered voters who wanted to vote in a party’s primary other than the one with which they were affiliated, they had to request to change parties by Oct. 2015 so the party could ensure the elimination of foul play or outsiders seeking to sway the results.  

Currently, Ivanka and Eric are registered as unaffiliated and cannot vote in the Republican primary election in NY.

“They were unaware of the rules, and they didn’t register in time,” said Trump to Fox News when asked to comment on the issue. “So Eric and Ivanka, I guess, won’t be voting.”

Trump further stated that his children “feel very, very guilty. They feel very guilty, but it’s fine. I understand that.” 

Both Ivanka and Eric explained that they were not aware of how strict the NY polls are and that they are “fully supportive of their father and look forward to casting their vote for him in November.” 

“Carelessness must run in the family,” said UNC Wilmington sophomore Dana Weber. “Because Trump doesn’t care about anyone but himself, his children obviously don’t care enough to vote for him.” 

However, Trump’s children are not the only NY citizens who have run into similar issues when it comes to the state’s no-nonsense voting registration. Many NY citizens fully intended to vote before finding out that primary regulations required party change requests over six months ago. 

Although Trump will definitely lose two votes in NY, he is still projected to not only win NY, but also the following primary in Pennsylvania on April 26 as well.