Published : 18 Aug 2026, 06:10 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:33 AM
US President Donald Trump has praised India's election system while renewing his push for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill requiring proof of citizenship and photo identification for voters.
Trump made the case in a post on Truth Social, citing a recent conversation with India's Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, The Times of India reports.
"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?" Trump wrote.
Referring to India's last general election, he said it drew 646 million voters, with less than one percent voting by mail and every voter required to carry a valid photo identity document.
"We need to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, now!" the president added.
The White House has called the bill a "common sense, bipartisan" measure meant to ensure only US citizens decide American elections.
Under the proposed law, voters would need valid identification and proof of citizenship to register for federal elections.
Mail-in voting would be restricted to specific circumstances, including illness, disability, military service and travel, according to news agency ANI.
States would also be required to strike non-citizens from federal 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, as quoted by the daily.
The administration argues US election safeguards lag behind those of other nations.
"India and Brazil tie voter ID to a biometric database, while the United States largely relies on self-attestation for citizenship," it said, pointing also to stricter ballot and mail-voting rules in Germany, Canada, Denmark and Sweden.
The bill, introduced in Congress on Jan 29, has been repeatedly backed by Trump, who calls stricter voter-ID and citizenship rules essential to election security and has urged lawmakers from both parties to support its passage.
What Is the SAVE America Act?
The SAVE America Act is a proposed US law aimed at tightening federal voting rules. It would:
