WASHINGTON — The centerpiece election legislation from congressional Republicans would require voters to prove their citizenship when registering, raising concerns among state election officials about how it would be implemented and who would pay for it.

In recent interviews, secretaries of state from both parties said they were wary of federal lawmakers creating state election rules and of costly new procedures that would come with them, including collecting and storing sensitive documents. They also criticized a provision that would allow for civil or criminal penalties against election official who registers someone without evidence of citizenship.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said there is no federal database that states can use to confirm a person’s citizenship status. Election officials described databases kept by the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security as unreliable.

“Reasonable people can agree that only citizens should be voting in our elections,” said Bellows, a Democrat. “If they want us to prove citizenship, then they need to build the infrastructure for that to happen.”

With the urging of President Donald Trump, House Republicans are expected to move quickly to advance the legislation, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. A proof of citizenship requirement was included in a package of priority bills that can bypass committee and head straight to a floor vote. That could happen as soon as this week, though the bill’s prospects in the Senate are uncertain amid likely Democratic opposition.

State election officials said they generally support steps to ensure that only U.S. citizens are voting, an issue that typically involves a tiny fraction of ballots and is not a coordinated attempt to subvert an election.

“Every time there’s federal legislation, I’ve got concerns, especially when the feds talk about things that the states typically do on a year-by-year, day-to-day basis,” said Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Republican. “Just because you think it’ll work in your state doesn’t mean it will work in everybody else’s state.”

Republicans in Congress have said the current process for registering voters is filled with loopholes that have allowed noncitizens to vote and relies on a system in which voters sign an oath that they are a citizens.

The bill does not include funding, leaving states to cover the costs.

Voting rights groups have said married women who have changed their name could have trouble registering under the SAVE Act because their birth certificate lists their maiden name.