US President Donald Trump, who is advocating for the SAVE America Act, a bill that calls for tough voter registration requirements in federal elections, has done it again, but this time using India’s electoral system as an example due to the use of voter identification documents and the small number of postal voting.
In a Truth Social post by Donald Trump, he refers to a report about a conversation between India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and US officials. The president mentions India’s recent general election where 646 million voters took part and less than 1% did it via postal voting.
Why Has Trump Mentioned Voter Cards of India?
This statement was made by Trump in an effort to reinforce his position on mandatory identification and citizenship verification in US federal elections.
As per Trump, massive elections in India show how a country can hold elections of hundreds of millions of voters with mandatory ID cards on the part of voters. This nation serves as an example of an electoral process which involves voter identification.
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor also agreed with the proposition by publishing a picture with Gyanesh Kumar and supporting the description of elections in India by Trump.
There are some differences between Indian and US electoral processes, such as voter registration, identification, postal voting, and management of elections.
What Is the SAVE America Act?
Safeguarding America’s Voter Eligibility Act, or the SAVE America Act, is the name of a federal Republican bill that aims at stricter conditions for the process of voter registration in US federal elections.
This legislation stipulates that voters will have to prove their American citizenship and have valid IDs to be able to register for voting. The bill also suggests limiting the number of mail-in ballots and making exceptions only in case of sickness, disability, military service, and traveling.
Those who support this legislation claim that it will enhance the security of elections and reduce the risk of non-citizens’ registrations. Opponents of this bill believe that extra documentation will cause difficulties for eligible voters.
How Does the Voter ID System work in India?
India adopts the system of Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), commonly referred to as the voter ID card, as a means of voter identification.
The system has been established to ensure the determination of the identity of the voter and prevent impersonation and voter fraud. The electoral rolls are also periodically updated, and election authorities organize campaigns to register eligible citizens.
It is worth noting that India’s voter ID system is not biometric voter-ID system contrary to what the White House website claims. In India, voter ID refers to the EPIC system and the electoral-roll system.
India also allows some categories of voters to use postal ballots. These include eligible elderly and disabled voters and government employees participating in election duties. As such, it would be wrong to refer to the system as one that totally bans postal voting.
What is the Current US Voter Registration System?
Unlike India, there is no single nationwide voter registration system in the United States.
Federal voter registration is managed in part by laws like the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America Vote Act, although each state administers its own elections and creates its own policies.
Voters in the United States are usually allowed to register using several ways,
- Department of Motor Vehicles offices
- Mailing forms
- Online registration
- In-person registration at selected offices
Voters sign registration forms stating that they are citizens of the United States and that the information they provided is true. However, physical documents are not necessarily used in all cases for voter registration.
Will the SAVE America Act Become Law?
The bill is facing a major obstacle in the US Senate.
It was passed by the House of Representatives on February 11, 2026, with a vote of 218 to 213. But the procedures in the Senate are different.
The Senate comprises 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats and independents. Though a simple majority will work in many cases in the Senate, a filibuster may require 60 votes to invoke cloture.
In other words, the Republicans will need some help from outside of their 53-member group unless the Senate rules change or the filibuster is overcome in another way.
Trump has been asking the Senate leadership to pass the SAVE Act and abolish the filibuster as well.
Why Are Democrats Against the Bill?
Democrats and certain voting rights groups have strongly opposed this bill.
The opponents have stressed that voting by the non-citizens in US federal elections is not only illegal, but extremely rare. This raises the question of whether further documentation measures should be required.
The critics have also warned that stringent documentation regulations would particularly harm certain classes of the electorate, including individuals struggling to acquire citizenship documentation, rural citizens, young people and women whose names have changed after marriage.
The main argument, therefore, is between the security concerns of the proponents and the access concerns of the opponents.
India-US Election Systems Are Different
The comparison made by Trump has attracted attention because the election systems of India and the US are quite different from each other.
Indian elections are conducted under an electoral system established on a central basis by the Election Commission of India, while the US elections are conducted by the individual states and municipalities.
While India heavily relies on voter ID and electoral rolls, the requirement for voter IDs in the US varies from one state to another.
Likewise, the procedure for postal ballots differs in the two nations; India allows postal ballots for certain classes of the eligible voters, while US states differ with regard to absentee and mail ballots.
Hence, Indian election system can be taken into account for comparison.
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