US President Donald Trump has renewed his call for Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, citing India’s election system and voter identification requirements as an example.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump referred to remarks he attributed to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar earlier this month regarding voter identification requirements in the United States.
“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 said.
Referring to India’s 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 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.”
According to the Election Commission of India, 64.64 crore votes were polled in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, while 42.82 lakh votes were cast through postal ballots, accounting for about 0.66 per cent of the total votes polled.
Trump reiterated his call for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, saying, “We need to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, now!”
The White House has said the legislation is aimed at ensuring that only US citizens participate in federal elections. It describes the measure as a “common sense, bipartisan bill”.
The proposed legislation would require documentary proof of US citizenship for voter registration in federal elections and photo identification when voting. It would also require states to take steps to identify and remove non-citizens from voter rolls.
The legislation further proposes requirements relating to absentee voting, including the submission of identification documents by voters casting ballots by mail.
The White House has argued that the US should adopt stronger measures to protect the integrity of federal elections and has compared its voting procedures with those in other countries, including India and Brazil.
The SAVE America Act is a legislative proposal and has not become law. The Senate version, S.3752, was introduced on January 29, 2026, while the House version, H.R.7296, was introduced on January 30, 2026.