US President Donald Trump. (Photograph: AP) United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday mentioned the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, Gyanesh Kumar, had requested his administration how the US might maintain elections with out legitimate photograph IDs for voters, citing India’s voter IDs whereas renewing his push for the passage of the Save America Act that requires proof of citizenship for voter registration within the nation.
In a social media put up, Trump wrote: “Earlier this month, India’s Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, requested our administration – How are you going to have Elections within the US and not using a legitimate Photograph ID? India’s final Election had 646,000,000 voters! Lower than 1% voted by mail, and each single voter needed to have a VALID Photograph Id Doc. We have to go THE SAVE AMERICA Act, now!”
Whereas the Election Fee (EC) didn’t touch upon the matter, a supply mentioned that when US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor met the CEC on the Fee headquarters on August 12, Kumar had knowledgeable Gor about India’s electoral processes, the final Lok Sabha elections and the Elector’s Photograph Id Card (EPIC) or Voter ID.
The assembly is learnt to have lasted about half-hour.
The CEC informed the Ambassador that every one voters have Photograph IDs, the supply mentioned.
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Requested in regards to the US President’s remarks, Ministry of Exterior Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal mentioned: “I’ve no particular feedback to make on these remarks. I can say, nonetheless, that the credibility and robustness of India’s election equipment is a well-established truth globally.”
Kumar, who’s chairing the Worldwide Institute for Democracy and Electoral Help this 12 months as a part of India’s chairship, has been holding conferences with ambassadors and excessive commissioners for the previous few months.
In the meantime, Gor has endorsed President Trump’s renewed push for stricter voter identification necessities within the US below the proposed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, citing India’s election system for instance.
In a put up on X, the ambassador backed Trump’s remarks on India’s voter identification necessities and urged Congress to go the laws. “President Donald J. Trump is completely appropriate! 646 MILLION voters, each single one required an ID in India’s final election. Congress ought to go THE SAVE AMERICA ACT!” Gor wrote.
President Donald J. Trump is completely appropriate! 646 MILLION voters, each single one required an ID in India’s final election. Congress ought to go THE SAVE AMERICA ACT! pic.twitter.com/lqQHSZvWk7
— Ambassador Sergio Gor (@USAmbIndia) August 18, 2026
After the assembly of the CEC and Gor final week, the EC mentioned on X: “Either side reaffirmed their shared dedication to strengthening democratic cooperation, according to the imaginative and prescient set out at India Worldwide Convention on Democracy and Election Administration 2026. Additionally they agreed to work intently collectively to deepen collaboration on election administration and the coaching of election employees.”
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There isn’t any info but from the US Embassy in New Delhi on what was mentioned through the assembly. An e-mail has been despatched to the Embassy on this regard.
The proposed ‘SAVE America’ laws seeks to introduce documentary proof of US citizenship for registration to vote in federal elections and photograph identification necessities for voting.
It might additionally set up measures regarding voter registration and federal voter rolls, together with provisions geared toward stopping non-citizens from registering to vote in federal elections. The White Home has described the measure as a means to make sure that solely US residents take part in federal elections.
“Americans — and solely Americans — ought to resolve American elections,” the White Home mentioned, describing the proposal as a “widespread sense, bipartisan invoice”. Nevertheless, the proposed laws has drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who’ve argued that documentary proof necessities might create further limitations for eligible voters who wouldn’t have available citizenship paperwork.
