In less than a month, voters in North Carolina will go to the polls and mark ballots to select political parties’ nominees for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Voter turnout for the June 7 primaries is expected to be low, according to Anita Bullock Branch, deputy director of the Beaufort County Board of Elections. One reason the turnout will be low, according to Branch, is many voters believe they’ve already voted for candidates seeking seats in the U.S. House. Well, they did and they did not, according to Branch. Although the ballots used for the March 15 primaries included the names of U.S. House candidates in contested primaries, votes for those candidates were not counted. They were not counted because the primaries for those candidates were moved to June 7. Their names were on the ballots in March because those ballots were printed before their primaries were moved to June 7.

In February, a three-member panel of judges declared two of North Carolina’s 13 congressional districts, including the 1^st District, unconstitutional because race was used in setting their boundaries. As a result of that ruling, the North Carolina General Assembly approved a new map depicting the state’s 13 congressional districts. At that time, the Legislature delayed the primaries for the U.S. House until June 7. Under that new plan, the candidate receiving the most votes in a primary would automatically win the primary and would not have to receive at least 40 percent of the votes cast, an exception to existing state law. Also under that plan, any votes cast for the U.S. House candidates in the March primaries would not be counted. Many of those voters believe their votes for congressional candidates in the March primaries counted, contends Branch. Believing so, they won’t vote in the June 7 primaries, she said.

When confusion enters the election process, voters and candidates suffer. In the June 7 primaries, it’s a safe bet that a small minority of voters will decide parties’ nominees for the U.S. House. The people who are chosen to represent us at any level of government should be elected by a majority of voters. That does not always happen, and it likely won’t happen June 7.

That is a shame.