What’s in the voting bill that Republicans are pushing to the Senate floor

Primary voters arrive to cast ballots at an official vote center in Dallas, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero) 2026-03-17T04:05:53Z WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation that would require proof of U.S. citizenship for new voters has become a rallying cry for President Donald Trump, who claims that passage of the bill will “guarantee the midterms” for his Republican Party in November. The bill, which the Senate will take up as early as Tuesday , would require voters to provide proof of citizenship when they register and to present approved identification when they go to the polls, among other new rules that Trump and his most loyal supporters are pushing as part of an effort to assert more federal control over elections. Federal law already requires that voters in national elections be U.S. citizens. But the legislation would lay out strict new requirements for voters to prove their status. Democrats are uniformly opposed to the legislation and expected to block its passage through the Senate. They say the legislation would disenfranchise millions of American voters who don’t have birth certificates or other documents readily available — both Republicans and Democrats who would be newly registering to vote. Despite the long odds of success, Trump has been pushing Senate Majority Leader John Thune to move ahead with the bill and suggested Republicans eliminate the filibuster or find another workaround to pass it. Thune has repeatedly said there isn’t enough support in the Senate to do that . Instead, Republicans plan to hold an extended debate on the bill for a week or more, an effort to try and appease Trump and make Democrats defend their position. The bill would “require Americans to demonstrate that they’re eligible to vote,” Thune said last week. “And that they are who they say they are.” Proof of citizenship would be needed for new voters The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility , or SAVE America Act, would force Americans to prove they are citizens when they

原文链接: AP News