Blame it on the heat, or the rain, or any other excuse you can conjure up.
Just be sure to save some blame for yourself.
Second primaries were held across North Carolina on Tuesday. Despite being open to nearly all registered voters, turnout was expected to reach record lows according to The Associated Press.
“It’s sad. It’s really sad,” Gary Bartlett, executive director of the State Board of Elections, told The Associated Press. “It shows that voters are not supporting second primaries.”
Based on figures provided by local elections officials, Bartlett predicted that turnout would be as low as 2.5 percent statewide, matching recent lows in a Republican primary to choose a labor commissioner nominee and an appellate judicial race.
The “not enough time” excuse doesn’t hold water as early voting started June 28 and ended Saturday. Less than 1 percent of the nearly 6.3 million North Carolina voters went to the polls by Saturday.
What did it cost to produce ballots and staff voting precincts for the second primary? More than $6 million.
“It surprised me tremendously,” Bartlett said.
Not everyone on Earth is blessed with the right to vote. In fact, voting rights for women in the U.S. were approved by Congress less than 100 years ago.
Knowing the amount of sacrifice that has gone into protecting this right, one would think voters would exercise it whenever possible. Without excuse.