As Trump pressures Congress on the SAVE America Act, states push their own versions

As push from Republicans and Donald Trump to pass the SAVE America Act have stalled in Congress, efforts are underway at the state level to fill in the gaps.

As a Republican push to pass the SAVE America Act has stalled in Congress, even amid escalating pressure from President Donald Trump, efforts are underway at the state level to fill in the gaps.

Lawmakers in a dozen states have advanced legislation this year that would require residents to prove their U.S. citizenship to register to vote or bring photo ID to the polls, according to the Voting Rights Lab, a nonpartisan group that tracks election legislation. Those proposals are two of the central planks of the SAVE America Act at the national level.

The latest example comes in Florida, where the Republican-led Legislature gave final passage to a bill Thursday to require election officials to confirm the citizenship of voters through government databases when they register to vote or update their registration, as well as during list maintenance. If a voter's eligibility is in question, they would be asked for proof of citizenship.

The legislation, once signed by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, would largely go into effect next year, after the midterm elections.

Bills to add a proof-of-citizenship requirements to voter registration have also passed through both legislative chambers in South Dakota and Utah, where they await the signatures from their Republican governors.