Trump wants US to vote like India. But will it work?

President Donald Trump has suggested that the United States should adopt India's election system as a model, citing its strict voter identification requirements and limited reliance on mail-in voting. In a post on Truth Social, Trump pointed out that India's 2024 Lok Sabha election saw over 640 million voters participate, with less than 1% voting by mail and all voters required to present a valid photo ID.

Trump urged the passage of the "SAVE AMERICA ACT," which would require documentary proof of US citizenship for voter registration and stricter identification at polling stations.

This argument is politically advantageous for Trump as it positions voter ID rules not as a unique Republican demand, but as a practice already followed by another major democracy. The comparison is compelling because India, the world's largest democracy, successfully runs elections with a high voter turnout and stringent identity verification measures.

However, the comparison falls short when considering the fundamental structural differences between the US and India's election systems. The US lacks a national voter ID card, national population register, or centralized authority overseeing elections, as these responsibilities are fragmented across states and counties. In contrast, India has a dedicated voter identity document issued through a national election system and conducts elections overwhelmingly through in-person voting, with postal ballots limited to specific categories of voters.

The debate on voter identification in the US is deeply rooted in the history of voter suppression tactics that emerged after the Civil War. Mechanisms such as literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses were used to deny voting rights to Black citizens, while intimidation and violence were also employed to deter registration.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was enacted to dismantle these systems, but the debate over modern voting regulations remains politically charged, with Democrats and civil rights organizations viewing new restrictions through the lens of past suppression campaigns, while Republicans view election security measures as necessary safeguards unrelated to race.