GAB shares cost of eliminating election day voter registration

MADISON (WITI) -- Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board (GAB) says eliminating election day voter registration in the state would cost taxpayers between $13.1 million and $14.5 million.

The Final Report on the Impacts and Costs of Eliminating Election Day Registration in Wisconsin was released on Monday, February 18th. That's well in advance of the GAB’s next meeting on March 20th to give the public and legislature ample time to read it before the Board considers it.

For the final report, four other state departments (Transportation, Health Services, Children and Families, and Workforce Development) have submitted their best estimates of how much it would cost if they were required to offer voter registration services to their customers under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The combined cost estimates are between $9,194,502 and $10,548,732.

Wisconsin is exempt from the NVRA because of its Election Day Registration (EDR) system. If EDR is eliminated, federal law would require Wisconsin to establish a system for offering voter registration services at the Division of Motor Vehicles and at agencies which provide public assistance or administer programs that assist persons with disabilities. Employees of those partner agencies would need to transmit voter registration applications and other voter data to the appropriate election officials.

The GAB prepared its report on eliminating EDR in response to requests for information from the Legislature.

CLICK HERE to view the full report from the GAB.