Early voting numbers in the Aug. 1 Lawrence City Commission primary are so underwhelming that the City Commission may want to adjust its policies for future elections.

Eight candidates are competing for three open City Commission seats. Tuesday’s primary will decide which six will advance to the Nov. 7 general election.

The terms of City Commissioners Lisa Larsen, Mike Amyx and Matthew Herbert are expiring this year. Amyx is not seeking re-election. Herbert and Larsen are vying to retain their seats in a field that also includes Jennifer Ananda, Bassem Chahine, Dustin Stumblingbear, Ken Easthouse, Mike Anderson and Christian Lyche.

Through Monday, just 275 people had cast ballots during early voting in the Lawrence City Commission election or the Perry-Lecompton school board primary, Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew said. During the last municipal election primary in 2015, 948 people cast ballots early. “We’re less than a week out from advance voting (ending) and we haven’t even voted a third of (the 2015) number yet,” Shew said.

That’s unfortunate. High participation in elections ensures the outcomes represents the will of the public. Hopefully, voters will get engaged and cast ballots in early voting or on Tuesday.

But the low participation is already concerning enough that the city should consider changing its rules for future elections.

This is the first year for a new election schedule, in which municipal elections are held in November instead of in the spring. The date of the general election is Nov. 7, which meant a primary on Aug. 1. Shew noted that it’s difficult to engage voters in August, when the University of Kansas is on break and families are in the midst of summer vacations. The state forced that change in schedule, and there is little the city can do about that.

However, the City Commission election requires a primary because eight candidates are vying for three seats. State law does allow cities to advance a larger number of candidates to a general election. The law in most Kansas communities is that a primary is not required until there are more than three times the number of open seats. City commissioners should investigate whether such a change would be beneficial in Lawrence. It is beginning to look like Lawrence voters are not too interested in voting in a City Commission primary election, and it may be particularly difficult to get their attention to do so in August.

Voting is a civic duty and, hopefully, primary voting totals will increase in the coming days. If they don’t, the new commission should consider adopting a new method of determining if a primary is necessary.