This is IN FACT an in game issue and needs to be addressed, as I am about done with dealing with it and it is going to cause me to simply stop playing. I have become bored with PvE and have taken to PvP, but this is a broken system. The problem is not just that we start with our teams short of others, but most of the time you never get any additional players either.
Example, this morning I get in a battleground and it starts with 2 players on my team, 3 on another, and 4 on another. Amazingly enough the sum of all players is 9......that could be 3 teams of 3. Math! Instead of being here complaining I would still be in there but I quit after being stuck with 2 players the first 5 minutes.
This is BROKEN and is absolutely an -in-game ISSUE.