SCOTT WALKER FIGURES IT OUT

What does a 2016 presidential aspirant do when his state votes Democratic? Rig the next election, of course. Wisconsin didn't turn into the swing state Scott Walker, Mitt Romney and the GOP had wished, with Obama carrying it by more than six percent and Democrat Tammy Baldwin winning an open Senate seat. Walker, the union-busting Koch brothers buddy, has pinpointed the source of the GOP's woes in Wisconsin—its liberal voting laws. "States across the country that have same-day registration have real problems," Walker said over the weekend, "because the vast majority of their states have poll workers who are wonderful volunteers, who work 13-hour days and who in most cases are retirees."

Those senior citizens aren't Walker's real problem, of course—it's Wisconsin's voter-friendly election laws. Since taking office he's been itching to dismantle them. In 2011, Walker signed a bill to implement a photo-ID requirement. The courts eventually overturned the proposal as unconstitutional. Dismantling same-day registration, however, likely wouldn't violate the state constitution—but could prove just as suppressive as a photo-ID law. The eight states with same-day registration have, on average, seven percent higher turnout than the national rate. That's good for little-d-democracy as well as for capitol-D-Democrats, who fare better when more people cast a ballot.
Thanks to Wisconsin's same-day registration policy, more than 70 percent of the state's eligible voters voted this year. But the governor may be able to toss aside the rule. Obama and Baldwin won the statewide races, but thanks to a district map created by Republican lawmakers, the GOP retook control of the state Senate and maintained its majority in the House. Next year, Walker and his allies will have carte blanche to implement their reactionary policies—at least until the next recall.