It’s hard to understand why local elections draw so few voters to the polls.

On Tuesday, three new members were elected to the Lawrence City Commission and five members to the Lawrence school board. But despite the many important issues that will be decided by these and other local officials elected in Douglas County Tuesday, only 16.05 percent of registered voters went to the polls to register their opinions.

Lawrence residents should be embarrassed!

It’s hard to imagine that local residents simply aren’t concerned about the operation of their public schools, the condition of city streets, how city services are delivered and who is making spending decisions that will affect their local tax bills. These are decisions that affect our daily lives, but only a relative handful of voters seem to make the important connection between electing good, well-motivated city officials and maintaining a high quality of life in Lawrence.

It’s little comfort that Lawrence isn’t alone in its voter apathy. Local elections in Wichita also drew a 16 percent turnout, but officials there thought that wasn’t too bad compared to the 12 percent turnout in 2011. Salina was in about the same boat with an 18 percent turnout Tuesday compared to 12 percent two years ago. Topeka elections attracted just 12.75 percent of its voters. A sales tax increase to rehabilitate the Hutchinson Sports Arena managed to boost turnout in Reno County to about 18 percent.

These low turnout figures undoubtedly will be cited by Kansas legislators who support a current bill that would move local city and school board elections to November in even-numbered years, combining them with state and national elections. Such a move is needed, they say, to boost participation in local elections. The current legislation would keep local elections non-partisan, but it would put the state one step closer to partisan local elections and a system that would allow straight-party voting.

Moving local elections to November might increase the number of votes cast in those races, but it would do nothing to enhance voter engagement or education. Local races and local issues are likely to get lost in the bigger state and national campaigns and many people will be voting for local candidates they know little or nothing about. Allowing voters to check a single box to vote a straight-party ticket, as some have proposed, would give voters an opportunity to cast purely partisan votes for local candidates without even having to read their names on the ballot.

The apathy that voters have shown toward local elections certainly is worthy of concern, but combining local elections with state and national contests isn’t the right remedy. Other steps, such as increased use of mail ballots, are worth exploring before throwing out the current system for an alternative that presents a whole different set of problems for voters and election officials.