Trump cites India's voter cards to make case for SAVE America Act

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

U.S. President Donald Trump said India’s chief election commissioner had spoken with officials from his administration earlier this month, and asked how U.S. elections can be held without a valid photo identification card | Photo Credit: AP

Making a strong case for stricter electoral laws in the U.S., President Donald Trump praised the Indian election system and recalled Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar questioning lack of voter identification in American polls.

In a post on Truth Social on Monday (August 17, 2026), Mr. Trump said over 646 million people participated in the recent general elections in India, and yet less than 1% voted through postal ballots.

Mr. Trump said India's chief election commissioner had spoken with officials from his administration earlier this month, and asked how U.S. elections can be held without a valid photo identification card.

The U.S. president made these remarks to drum up support for the SAVE America Act, which would require Americans to show proof of citizenship to register to vote, impose a nationwide voter identification requirement and severely limit voting by mail.

"Earlier this month, India's Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, asked our Administration – How can you have Elections in the US without a valid Photo ID," Mr. Trump wrote.

"India's last Election had 646,000,000 Voters! Less than one per cent voted by mail, and every single Voter had to have a VALID Photo Identity Document." "We need to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, now," he asserted.

Mr. Trump has been insisting on passing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, claiming the move would curb electoral fraud.

However, both Democrats and Republicans are divided over the issue, and the U.S. Senate adjourned for a five-week recess earlier this month without any concrete steps for its passing.

A fact-sheet on the SAVE America Act on the White House website also noted that India and Brazil have already linked voter identity cards to a biometric database, while the US relies on self-attestation by electors.

The bill also seeks to permanently ban men from competing in women's sports, and ban transgender mutilation surgery for children.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.