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Gov. Scott Walker wasted no time Wednesday signing a bill into law that makes Wisconsin the 31st state to adopt online voter registration.

News of Walker's signature came hours after the bill passed the state Senate Tuesday night.

Walker's signature means online registration will be available to voters as soon as this year and no later than in 2017, depending on the speed with which it can be implemented, according to the state elections agency, the Government Accountability Board.

The central premise of the bill -- allowing voters to register online -- enjoys bipartisan support. But Democrats and some civic groups have assailed a provision eliminating special registration deputies, or SRDs, who conduct voter registration drives for groups such as the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.

Critics said that part of the bill counters the notion that the bill makes it easier to vote. Instead, they said it hampers ballot access by crippling the registration drives that address under-served populations.