Trump Cites India's Voter ID System to Push SAVE Act

President Donald Trump is urging Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, citing India's electoral system as a model for curbing fraud. In posts on Truth Social, Trump highlighted that India's most recent general election involved 646 million voters who were required to provide valid photo identification, with less than 1% using postal ballots. Trump referenced a conversation with India's Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, who reportedly questioned how the U.S. could hold elections without mandatory photo IDs.

The proposed legislation would require documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration, mandate nationwide photo identification at polls, and restrict mail-in voting to specific cases such as illness or military service. While the Republican-led House passed a version of the bill, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has declared the legislation "dead on arrival." The U.S. Senate recently adjourned for a five-week recess without taking further action.

U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor endorsed the act, while the Indian National Congress party mocked the praise. MP Pawan Khera sarcastically suggested the U.S. take both Kumar and India's electronic voting machines to America. Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India defended the robustness of its machinery, noting it has issued special photo identity cards to nearly one billion electors. Separately, Trump ordered the U.S. Census Bureau to verify 2020 presidential election records, alleging that an initial check of 128 million voters revealed over 24,000 illegal votes cast by noncitizens.