Watch the live broadcast: The Senate begins consideration of the Save America Act

WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation requiring proof of U.S. citizenship for new voters has become a rallying cry for President Donald Trump, who claims passage of the bill will “guarantee the midterm elections” for his Republican party in November.

The bill, which the Senate will take up on Tuesday, would require voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering and provide certified identification when going to the polls, among other new rules pushed by Trump and his most loyal supporters as part of an effort to assert more federal control of elections.

He watches: How Trump’s Save America Act will reshape voting and why critics are concerned

Federal law already requires that voters in national elections be US citizens. But the legislation would set strict new requirements for voters to prove their status.

Democrats uniformly oppose this legislation and expect to block its passage in the Senate. They say the legislation would disenfranchise millions of American voters who do not have birth certificates or other readily available documents — whether Republicans or Democrats who are newly registered to vote.

Despite the long odds of success, Trump has been pressing Senate Majority Leader John Thune to move forward with the bill and suggested Republicans should eliminate the filibuster or find an alternative solution to pass it. Thune has repeatedly said there is not enough support in the Senate to do so.

He watches: Tamara Keith and Amy Walter talk about the impact of Trump’s campaign for the Save America Act

Instead, Republicans plan to hold an expanded debate on the bill for a week or more, trying to appease Trump and get Democrats to defend their position.

Thune said last week that the bill “requires Americans to prove they are eligible to vote.” “And they are who they say they are.”

Proof of citizenship will be required for new voters

The American Voter Eligibility Protection Act, or Save America Act, would force Americans to prove they are citizens when they register to vote, mostly through a valid US passport or birth certificate.

Driver’s licenses in many states will not be enough. The legislation stipulates that identification must be consistent with new Real ID rules, and also indicates that the applicant is a U.S. citizen — something few state licenses do.

A person registering to vote can also provide a passport or birth certificate. Members of the U.S. military can provide a military identification card along with a service record showing where they were born.

Read more: What to know about how the Save America Act could change voting

Most people who register to vote will have to submit documents in person to the elections office, including people who vote by mail. Advocacy groups that oppose the legislation say the bill would crush voter registration efforts before this year’s elections.

The bill would impose new penalties on election officials who register applicants who do not provide documentary proof of citizenship. Opponents say the provision could intimidate workers into rejecting qualified applicants while also discouraging people from working or volunteering at polling sites. It would also allow individuals to sue election officials in some circumstances.

The expansion of voter identification will include mail-in ballots

While federal law requires that voters be U.S. citizens, there is currently no state-level requirement that voters show their ID when they go to vote. Currently, 36 states have voter ID laws in place, some stricter than others, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The bill requires voters in all states to provide a valid ID, and those who vote by mail would have to send in a copy. Overseas military personnel and certain qualified individuals with disabilities will be exempt from these rules.

Republican supporters often highlight this section of the bill when pushing for its passage. Thune said last week that if you have to show ID to get a library card, “it’s not a stretch to ask voters to show ID to vote in a federal election.”

States will be required to share their voter lists

The legislation would require states to share voter information with the Department of Homeland Security as a way to verify the citizenship of names on voter rolls — giving the federal government unprecedented access to state voter data. Several states are already locked in legal battles with the Trump administration over their requirement to provide information to voters.

Supporters of state-federal sharing say it would enable the Department of Homeland Security to compare state information with their own databases used to verify immigration status.

But Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer predicted that handing over the names to the federal government would allow the Department of Homeland Security to “remove tens of millions of people from voter rolls.”

Trump is pushing Republicans to add to his other priorities

Senate Republicans are expected to offer floor amendments as part of their talks to support the bill. Trump said he wants to add more provisions, including banning mail-in ballots, which many states use.

Trump has long criticized mail-in ballots and used them as a central argument in his false claims of fraud in the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. But voting groups — and many lawmakers in both parties — have long defended the practice as helping to make it easier for Americans to vote.

The president also wants to add two provisions unrelated to transgender rights issues — one that would prevent those born as men from playing women’s sports and another to prevent sex reassignment surgeries on some minors.

Many requirements will start immediately

If the Save America Act is enacted, new voter registration and voter identification rules at the polls would take effect immediately. Trump says it is essential for Republicans to win the midterm elections, even though they won both chambers of Congress and the White House without the law in 2024.

With the primary election starting next month, critics say it would be difficult and expensive for state election officials to implement, and could confuse voters.

Mark Elias, a Democratic election lawyer, said he is not “aware of any state that currently requires what this requires.”

“If it is passed tomorrow, countries will have to implement it the next day,” Elias said.

Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.