Trump Pushes for Voter ID Law, Cites India’s Election System
Former U.S. President Donald Trump made headlines on Monday by urging Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act. He based his request on insights from India’s election system, particularly its strict voter identification rules.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump referenced comments made earlier this month by India’s Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, who questioned how the United States could hold elections without requiring voters to present valid photo identification. Trump quoted Kumar, saying, “How can you have Elections in the US without a valid Photo ID?”
Highlighting India’s recent general election, Trump noted that the country had approximately 646 million registered voters, with fewer than 1% voting by mail. He emphasized that every voter was required to show a valid photo ID.
Reiterating his stance, Trump said, “We need to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT now!” The Act, according to the White House, aims to ensure that only U.S. citizens have a say in federal elections.
The White House described the SAVE America Act as a “common sense, bipartisan bill.” The proposed legislation would require voters to present valid ID and proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Furthermore, it suggests limiting mail-in voting to specific circumstances, such as illness, disability, military service, or travel. The Act would also instruct states to remove non-citizens from voter registration lists.
“If you want to register to vote in the United States, you have to be a citizen,” the White House stressed, underscoring the importance of citizenship in the voting process.
Additionally, the administration pointed out that U.S. election procedures lag behind those in other countries. They compared the U.S. system to that of nations like India and Brazil, where voter ID is linked to a biometric database, while the U.S. mainly relies on self-attestation for citizenship verifications.
The bill for this legislation was first introduced on January 29.
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