MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - Governor Scott Walker now says it would be too expensive for Wisconsin to drop Election Day voter registration.

And he told reporters in Pewaukee Wednesday morning that he will not sign such a measure.

The Republican Walker started the latest debate over same-day registration, when he told an audience in California last month that he would like to end the practice. But the governor backed off, after the Government Accountability Board said it would cost $5.2 million to make a change right away – and almost $2 million more every other year.

That’s because the state would have to comply with a host of federal election rules, from which the state is now exempt because of its same-day registration system.

Majority GOP lawmakers were working on a bill to do away with it. Walker has said that same-day registration puts too much of a burden on poll workers.

Some GOP lawmakers said it’s susceptible to voter fraud. And some Republicans have said for years that same-day registration favors Democrats.

But Wednesday, Walker said he did not think legislators would try to pass something, after learning what the price tag would be.

Walker made his comments while appearing at a workforce development summit put on by the Waukesha County Business Alliance.