00:00Donald Trump has now turned India's election system into a talking point in his push for tougher voting rules in
00:08America,
00:09and his claim about India's 2024 election is triggering a much bigger debate.
00:15In a Truth Social post, Trump cited India's chief election commissioner Ganesh Kumar
00:21and pointed to one key feature of India's system,
00:26mandatory photo ID for in-person voting, and extremely limited postal voting.
00:32Trump said India's last election had around 646 million voters with less than 1% voting by mail
00:41and argued that every voter had to present a valid photo identity document.
00:46He then used that comparison to make a direct political pitch.
00:51The Save America Act should be passed now.
00:54But there is more to the story.
00:57India's 2024 Lok Sabha election saw approximately 646 million votes cast, with turnout at around 66%.
01:07Postal ballots accounted for roughly 4.28 million votes, or about 0.66% of the total.
01:16So, yes, India's postal voting figure was below 1%.
01:21But India does not have a system where everyone simply shows up with one specific voter ID.
01:28Voters must be on the electoral roll, and they have to provide an accepted photo identity document at the polling
01:35station.
01:36The election commission accepts multiple forms of identification, including the voter ID card, Avar, passport, driving license, and PAN card,
01:47among others.
01:47And most voting takes place in person, using electronic voting machines, along with VVPAT.
01:55That is the part of India's system Trump is highlighting.
01:58But there is one important distinction.
02:01India's election framework is not identical to what the Save America Act proposes for the United States.
02:08The Republican-backed legislation would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for federal voter registration or updates,
02:17introduce nationwide photo ID requirements for federal elections, and impose additional requirements around mail and absentee voting.
02:27Trump is using India as an example of what he describes as a more secure election model.
02:34But India's election system itself is the subject of intense political debate.
02:39Chief Election Commissioner Ganesh Kumar has faced sustained criticism from opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Congress allies,
02:49over allegations involving electoral rolls and claims of vote manipulation.
02:55The Election Commission has rejected those allegations as incorrect and baseless.
03:00And importantly, there has been no independent judicial finding establishing systemic fraud that invalidated the 2024 election reform.
03:09So, when Trump points to India, he is highlighting one part of a much larger and more complicated system.
03:18India does have strict identification requirements for in-person voting, and very limited postal voting.
03:25But that does not mean the two countries have identical election rules.
03:30And that distinction matters, because Trump's argument is not that America should copy India completely.
03:37It is that India's massive election operation proves, in his view, that stricter identification and limited mail voting are possible
03:47at scale.
03:48Now, the debate moves back to Washington.
03:51Will the Save America Act become law?
03:54Or will America continue its much more divided battle over voter ID, citizenship verification, and mail-in voting?
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