Trump cites India’s Chief Election Commissioner on US voter ID requirements.
US President Donald Trump on Monday renewed his call for Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, pointing to India’s election system and voter identification requirements.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump cited remarks attributed to India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar earlier this month concerning voter identification requirements in the US.
Trump said: “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?”
Referring to India’s 2024 general election, Trump said: “India’s last Election had 646,000,000 Voters! Less than 1 per cent voted by mail, and every single Voter had to have a VALID Photo Identity Document.”
Trump renewed his call for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, saying: “We need to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, now!”
According to the White House, the legislation is intended to ensure that only US citizens participate in federal elections.
“American citizens — and only American citizens — should decide American elections,” the White House said, describing the SAVE America Act as a “common sense, bipartisan bill.”
The White House said the proposed legislation would require voters to provide valid identification when registering to vote in federal elections, along with proof of citizenship.
The bill also proposes restricting mail-in ballots to circumstances involving illness, disability, military service or travel. The White House said the legislation would further require states to remove non-citizens from voter rolls.
“If you want to register to vote in the United States, you have to be a citizen in the United States,” the White House said.
The administration also compared US election procedures with those in other countries, arguing that the US lags behind some nations in implementing what it described as basic election safeguards.
“India and Brazil tie voter ID to a biometric database, while the United States largely relies on self-attestation for citizenship,” the White House said.
The bill was introduced in Congress on January 29.
