HMM: Early vote totals in at least 17 states already surpass 2014 turnout at this point.

In some cases, early and absentee vote totals are on track to double since four years ago. The numbers are so high in some states that early voting may exceed total vote counts — including Election Day tallies — from four years ago.

The heightened participation reflects in part a surge of interest among Democrats, who stayed home in large numbers in 2014, when Republicans took control of the Senate and widened their control of the House.

But data from several battleground states with marquee Senate or governor’s races show Republicans are also very engaged — as much as they were four years ago — suggesting many hard-fought races could be even closer than surveys are predicting.

That’s fine, but if I were king for a day, in no particular order I’d:

• Require photo ID to vote
• Outlaw early voting/voting by mail
• Absentee ballots only in case of travel or medical necessity
• Paper ballots only
• No same-day voter registration
• Purple fingers
• Mandate nationwide purge voter rolls every five years — if renewal is good enough for drivers licenses, it’s good enough for voter registration

Did I miss anything?