US President Donald Trump cited India’s electoral system and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Tuesday while renewing his call for mandatory voter photo identification in the United States. In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump pushed for Congress to enact a stricter voter registration measure known as the SAVE America Act.
He wrote that earlier this month, India's Chief Election Commissioner had asked his administration how American elections could be conducted without valid photo identification. Trump highlighted that 646 million voters took part in India's last election, where under one per cent voted by mail and every voter was required to present a valid photo identity document.
The post follows a meeting a week earlier between Kumar and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, during which both agreed to deepen cooperation on election management and staff training. Endorsing Trump's comments on X, Gor stated that the US President was correct, noting that every single voter among the 646 million in India's last election was required to produce an ID, and urged Congress to pass the SAVE America Act.
Passing the legislation has become a central objective for the Trump administration. The act would require individuals to present documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote and a valid photo ID when casting a ballot. Although the House of Representatives passed the bill earlier this year, it has repeatedly stalled in the Senate. Voter ID requirements remain a deeply divisive issue in American politics. Proponents contend that stricter rules safeguard election integrity, particularly amidst lingering debate over the legitimacy of recent elections. Conversely, critics note that non-citizens are already barred from voting under existing law and warn that millions of registered voters lack the requisite documentation.
According to the Bipartisan Policy Centre, 12 per cent of registered US voters do not possess standard documentation such as a birth certificate or valid passport. The organisation also warned that verifying these documents would place an unfunded burden on election authorities, noting that similar restrictions in Kansas had previously prevented around 31,000 eligible citizens from registering.
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