TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has more than 7,000 precinct seats per party, but fewer than a fifth of Democratic seats are occupied and less than half of Republican seats are filled.

Precincts are geographical units within the electoral system. Each Kansas precinct has two seats per political party.

The Topeka Capital-Journal tallied precinct seats for all of Kansas’ 105 counties using data from election offices and political parties. The data showed 51 percent of Republican precinct seats appear to be vacant, as well as 83 percent of Democratic seats. Forty counties have no Democratic precinct leaders.

Political scientists and party leaders cite several reasons why precinct seats remain unfilled, ranging from apathy to awkward boundary lines that sometimes result in precincts with few or no residents.