The United States has recently intensified its focus on India’s election system, mirroring a strategy of bolstering voter identification through a nationwide initiative involving the Chief Election Commissioner. This move, spearheaded by President Trump, centers on the assertion that India’s system is a model for stricter voter verification, a demand that the US administration is attempting to compel through congressional legislation. In a Monday post on social media, Trump stated that India’s Chief Election Commissioner had asked how the US could hold elections without a valid photo ID, a request that ignited a debate about voter eligibility requirements.
India’s elections, encompassing 646 million voters in 2024, represent the world’s largest and are widely lauded for their scale, complexity, and efficiency. However, the process has also drawn scrutiny regarding electoral rolls, campaign fraud, and the independence of institutions under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE America Act, is a pivotal bill currently before Congress, requiring voter registration to provide documentary proof of US citizenship and stricter identification protocols. The bill’s provisions, including requiring voters to provide documents like birth certificates or passports, have sparked considerable discussion regarding potential voter disenfranchisement and the potential for increased electoral malpractices.
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE America Act, is a voting bill backed by Trump, which would require voters to provide documentary proof of US citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport.
Research conducted by New York-based Brennan Center for Justice found that most reported incidents of voter fraud were largely due to clerical errors or data-matching practices. The report reviewed elections that had been ‘meticulously’ studied for voter fraud and concluded that incident rates were between 0.0003 percent and 0.0025 percent. Critics argue the bill would be tantamount to widespread voter disenfranchisement and would negatively affect voter turnout. Democratic politicians, however, maintain that the Trump administration is using the bill to influence the outcome of the upcoming midterm elections, where Republicans are expected to defend their razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) oversees elections across the country, with nearly 970 million registered voters and over 640 million actually voting in the 2024 general election. The ECI introduced voter photo identification in 1993 to ‘prevent impersonation’ and to strengthen election administration. India also maintains detailed electoral rolls, which determine eligibility to vote in a particular constituency. Prior to voting day, the ECI asks voters to check that their names appear on the electoral roll.
Yes, India does have postal ballots, but only certain voters can access them. According to the election commission website, voters can submit their vote on an ‘electronically received postal ballot from their preferred location’ outside of their assigned voting constituency, and ‘send back the marked postal ballot through the post.’
India’s opposition has consistently raised concerns over alleged election malpractices in both general and regional elections. In August 2025, Congress Party’s Rahul Gandhi alleged fraud in the 2024 general election, accusing the ECI of adding fraudulent voters to electoral rolls in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura constituency. In news conferences held in large halls, Gandhi showed multiple instances of identical photographs appearing on multiple voter IDs – potentially allowing one person to cast more than one vote.
Gandhi said the claims were based on six months of research and challenged the commission to release electronic voter rolls and CCTV footage to disprove them.
The government rejected the allegations, but did not accept Gandhi’s challenge to release details that would prove or disprove his accusations.
Later that year in November, the Congress Party alleged that more than 2.5 million votes had been ‘stolen’ during the 2024 Haryana state election. According to India’s biggest opposition party, irregularities were found in voter records, including identical photographs appearing on multiple voter IDs.
While evidence of widespread voter fraud remains scant, analysts and rights groups argue the focus on voter ID in India misses a more fundamental problem: who gets to vote and who doesn’t.”
Source: Al Jazeera
