Trump cites CEC’s remark, India’s election model in bid to push Save America Act
US President Donald Trump. (Photo: AP)United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, Gyanesh Kumar, had asked his administration how the US could hold elections without valid photo IDs for voters, citing India’s voter IDs while renewing his push for the passage of the Save America Act that requires proof of citizenship for voter registration in the country.
In a social media post, Trump wrote: “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? India’s last Election had 646,000,000 voters! Less than 1% voted by mail, and every single voter had to have a VALID Photo Identity Document. We need to pass THE SAVE AMERICA Act, now!”
While the Election Commission (EC) did not comment on the matter, a source said that when US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor met the CEC at the Commission headquarters on August 12, Kumar had informed Gor about India’s electoral processes, the last Lok Sabha elections and the Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) or Voter ID.
The meeting is learnt to have lasted about 30 minutes.
The CEC told the Ambassador that all voters have Photo IDs, the source said.
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Asked about the US President’s remarks, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “I have no specific comments to make on these remarks. I can say, however, that the credibility and robustness of India’s election machinery is a well-established fact globally.”
Kumar, who is chairing the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance this year as part of India’s chairship, has been holding meetings with ambassadors and high commissioners for the past few months.
Meanwhile, Gor has endorsed President Trump’s renewed push for stricter voter identification requirements in the US under the proposed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, citing India’s election system as an example.
In a post on X, the ambassador backed Trump’s remarks on India’s voter identification requirements and urged Congress to pass the legislation. “President Donald J. Trump is absolutely correct! 646 MILLION voters, every single one required an ID in India’s last election. Congress should pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT!” Gor wrote.
President Donald J. Trump is absolutely correct! 646 MILLION voters, every single one required an ID in India’s last election. Congress should pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT! pic.twitter.com/lqQHSZvWk7
— Ambassador Sergio Gor (@USAmbIndia) August 18, 2026
After the meeting of the CEC and Gor last week, the EC said on X: “Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening democratic cooperation, in line with the vision set out at India International Conference on Democracy and Election Management 2026. They also agreed to work closely together to deepen collaboration on election management and the training of election staff.”
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There is no information yet from the US Embassy in New Delhi on what was discussed during the meeting. An email has been sent to the Embassy in this regard.
The proposed ‘SAVE America’ legislation seeks to introduce documentary proof of US citizenship for registration to vote in federal elections and photo identification requirements for voting.
It would also establish measures concerning voter registration and federal voter rolls, including provisions aimed at preventing non-citizens from registering to vote in federal elections. The White House has described the measure as a way 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 proposal as a “common sense, bipartisan bill”. However, the proposed legislation has drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who have argued that documentary proof requirements could create additional barriers for eligible voters who do not have readily available citizenship documents.
