What is the SAVE Act, and how does it compare to Florida’s new voter ID bill?

Senators in Washington right now are debating a bill that would radically change the way Americans both register to vote and vote in elections.

Republicans have been trying to get the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or the SAVE America Act, passed for the last two years. The bill would require citizenship verification in order to register to vote.

The bill also would require voter identification in every state in order to vote.

Supporters in the Senate are hoping a marathon debate period will wear down Democrats who have stood against the bill.

President Donald Trump has told Senate Republican leaders that the SAVE Act is a priority to “guarantee the midterms” for the Republican Party in November. He’s also threatened not to sign another bill into law until the SAVE Act is passed.

If approved, the new rules would take place immediately, leaving local and state election officials to scramble to meet compliance in time for the November election.

[WATCH: Nearly 400 Seminole County voters warned of petition signature issue]

Meanwhile, in Florida, the Republican legislature passed a bill that would require Florida’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to include citizenship status on driver’s licenses or identification cards. It also limits the types of photo identification that can be used at the polling precincts to those that include citizenship status.

Opponents of both bills say they will result in disenfranchising millions of Americans.

Here’s what you need to know about both bills.

The SAVE America Act

Read the full bill HERE.

The SAVE America Act requires “documentary proof of United States citizenship” in order to register to vote.

This does not just affect people registering to vote for the first time. For example, anyone who moves from one state to another fills out a new voter registration form.

The bill lists the following documents as acceptable:

1. A form of identification that is REAL ID Act-compliant AND indicates that the applicant is a United States citizen. Currently, only five states have this: Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington.
2. A valid United States passport
3. An official United States military identification card and a military record of service showing that the applicant was born in the United States.
4. A valid government-issued photo identification card issued by a federal, state or tribal government that shows the applicant was born in the United States.

If you don’t have any of these, you can still present a government-issued photo ID, but you also have to present one of the following:

1. A certified birth certificate issued by a state, local or tribal government that (a) indicates where the applicant was born, (b) was filed with a state’s vital records office (a regular hospital certificate won’t do), (c) includes the full name, date of birth, place of birth, the full name of at least one parent, (d) is signed by someone authorized to sign birth certificates and (e) includes the data the certificate was filed and the seal of the state.
2. An extract from a United States hospital Record of Birth created at the time of the applicant’s birth that indicates they were born in the United States.
3. A final adoption decree showing the applicant was born in the United States.
4. A Consular Report of Birth Abroad
5. A Naturalization Certificate or Certificate of Citizenship issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
6. An American Indian Card issued by the Department of Homeland Security with the classification “KIC.”

[WATCH: REAL ID deadline arrives. Here’s what to know]

What if you’ve changed your name since you were born?

Moreover, any documents would have to show matching names.

The bill requires states to establish a process to verify that the names don’t match. That means those who have changed their names for whatever reason will also have to provide additional documentation on that name change (marriage and divorce documents are commonly cited).

The option the state can choose is to allow the applicant to sign an affidavit verifying that the name is the previous one.

What if you don’t have access to documentary proof?

It’s believed that more than 21 million U.S. citizens do not have ready access to documents proving their citizenship, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

The U.S. State Department says more than 183 million Americans have valid U.S. passports, which is a little over half of the country’s population.

The bill does allow for a process to verify people without documentary proof to get registered to vote. But it doesn’t specify that process. Instead, it requires each state to establish a process based on guidance from the Election Assistance Commission.

What about when you go to vote?

The SAVE America Act requires all states to require photo identification when people go to vote, whether that be in person or by mail.

Currently, 36 states have some form of voter ID required. Florida is one of them.

What else is in the bill?

States would be required to share voter information with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The department would verify the citizenship of names on voter rolls.

If passed, that would give the federal government unprecedented access to voter data. The Trump administration demanded voter data early in the administration, and many states are in legal fights over having to turn the data over.

Critics fear it gives the federal government the power to purge millions from the voter rolls.

What is the Florida bill?

HB 991 was passed on March 12 in Tallahassee, and next goes to Gov. DeSantis for his signature. Most provisions would have to be in place by Jan. 1, 2027.

The biggest changes are:

• The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles must now verify citizenship status for any new, replacement or renewal driver’s license or identification card.
• Removes several photo identification options from the list of IDs that can be used to vote (this matches the SAVE America Act). State-issued college identification and retirement home cards, for instance, would no longer be acceptable forms of identification.
• Requires the state’s online voter registration to verify a person’s legal status with DHSMV records.
• Does not allow a voter registration application to be accepted as valid until the Department of State verifies that the person is a U.S. citizen. If they can’t be verified, they have to provide additional documentary proof, which matches the SAVE America Act requirements.