The bill, which requires national voter ID and proof of citizenship when registering to vote, is broadly supported by Republicans and passed the House in February with zero defections. But there is no path for it to become law unless Republicans sidestep the 60 votes needed for most legislation, something that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) says there isn’t the GOP support to do.

The first vote will briefly highlight those divisions — at least one Republican, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), plans to vote “no” and two others could as well — but the debate is meant to give Republicans a common goal: forcing Democrats into days of speeches and legislative sparring over the merits of the bill.

Republicans plan to highlight the popularity of voter ID and will use the proof of citizenship language to portray Democrats as unwilling to prevent illegal immigrants from voting. Trump has also asked that Republicans tack on language restricting transgender surgeries and transgender participation in women’s sports — two policies that Republicans successfully used as a political wedge against Democrats in the last election cycle.

Democrats, for their part, say the legislation is a ruse for voter suppression and have vowed to fight it “tooth and nail.” They’ll have limited tools as the minority party and will need to keep a constant presence on the Senate floor to prevent its passage. But there are tactics Democrats can try to use to knock Republicans off balance, and they’ve begun ramping up their countermessaging.

In a Monday floor speech, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) accused Republicans of “conspiring with Donald Trump to undermine democracy and disenfranchise millions of Americans.”

“Put simply, the SAVE Act is designed to make it harder to vote and easier to steal an election,” Schumer said.

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The process falls short of what the MAGA base, and the president himself, want to see. Conservatives tried and failed to convince Thune to pursue a talking filibuster, an old-school way of blockading legislation that might eventually allow the SAVE America Act to pass at 50 votes.

Instead, Thune is attempting to split the difference, spearheading a “hybrid” approach that allows unlimited debate and a chance to call up votes. It will still fail, however, when the Senate moves to cut off debate at the usual 60-vote threshold due to universal Democratic opposition.

House conservatives, meanwhile, have panned the entire process as “performance theater” and are plotting ways to pressure Senate Republicans into following through with a proper talking filibuster. Trump has similarly fumed at Thune, going so far as to refuse to sign bills until the SAVE America Act reaches his desk.

Thune says that the outcome is out of his control, and that the most Senate Republicans can do is force Democrats to take politically difficult votes.

“I can’t guarantee an outcome on this legislation, but I can guarantee that we are going to put Democrats on the record, that they will be forced to defend their outrageous positions on these issues, and explain to the American people why common sense and the Democratic Party have parted ways,” Thune said in a Thursday floor speech.

A fluid process

The reason debate can start at all is because the House sent the SAVE America Act over to the Senate as a “message,” a procedural maneuver that lets Republicans take their first vote at a simple majority threshold.

Vice President JD Vance will need to be on hand in case of a tie — Republicans can only afford to lose three votes if all Democrats are opposed — but the legislation is expected to advance, leading to an open-ended period of debate.

During a genuine talking filibuster, it would be Democrats who line up back-to-back speakers in a bid to prevent Republicans from passing the legislation. They’d also get the chance to bring an unlimited number of amendments to the floor for a vote, similar to the overnight “vote-a-ramas” they forced when Republicans ushered their tax law through the Senate.

In a hybrid approach, it’s Republicans who will be in control of the process. Thune can move to “fill the amendment tree,” essentially cutting off Democrats’ ability to call a vote. They’re also preparing a marathon of floor speeches, with plans to keep debate going late into the night and likely into the weekend.

It remains to be seen how large a role Democrats play in the process. They have mocked the format as Republicans wasting their own floor time on something that won’t pass. But Democrats do have tools at their disposal should they want to move to end debate or turn the conversation to issues more favorable to them.

They could try to adjourn or recess the Senate. Or, they could delay proceedings by forcing a “live quorum call,” which requires each senator to appear in person to record his or her attendance. If they want to highlight a topic like healthcare or Trump’s war with Iran, Democrats can even try to wrest control from Thune and force votes of their own choosing, though Republicans can beat back those attempts.

At a minimum, Democrats will need to keep at least one senator on the floor at all times to block Republicans from passing the SAVE America Act. They’ll also be forced to field any number of amendments Republicans bring up to alter the bill.

At Trump’s request, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) plans to bring forward an expanded SAVE America Act that includes restrictions on voting by mail and transgender policies. But Republicans could also choose to break each element of that amendment into stand-alone votes.

The mail voting crackdown, in particular, is divisive among Republicans and could endanger any amendment that includes it.

Schumer told reporters in a Sunday press call that Thune has not given Democrats an indication of their plans for the debate, but that he’s gamed out every possibility with his deputies.

“We have table-topped every single thing they might do. And we’re prepared to meet each one and defeat this bill,” Schumer said.

On the Republican side, Thune’s staff has been discussing strategy with Schmitt; Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), the lead sponsor of the SAVE America Act; and the White House legislative affairs team.

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As of now, the amendment votes are expected to happen at the end of the process, just before the Senate moves to cut off debate. But Republicans could bring them forward sooner depending on how the process unfolds, according to one GOP aide.

They could technically be set at a simple majority vote, but the more likely scenario is that Democrats will be able to force a 60-vote threshold for each amendment.