Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker first floated the idea of ending same-day voter registration, then called the idea "ridiculous." The state's nonpartisan Government Accountability Board, which runs elections in Wisconsin, has another way of looking at it: expensive. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
The accountability board estimated in its report that ending election-day registration would cost the state $5.2 million for the first two years -- $1.9 million for increased costs to maintain voter lists, $1.2 million in computer system upgrades, $1.2 million for an ad campaign and voter outreach and more than $800,000 for training and adding staff.
GAB spokesman Reid Magney tells the Wisconsin State Journal that the new expense for the $7 million agency would be "huge." About to 10-15 percent of Wisconsin voters take advantage of the law either to sign up or to fix their registrations when they go to the polls. Wisconsin had voter turnout of about 70 percent in November, with 87 percent turnout in Milwaukee. After Barack Obama won Wisconsin for the second time, state Republicans proposed ending same-day registration.