Many democratic tenets now considered fundamental in Western societies have only been established within the past century.
US President Donald Trump recently posted on the social media site Truth Social, referencing India’s electoral system as a potential model for implementing stricter voter identification rules in the United States. In his post, Mr Trump stated, “India’s last Election had 646,000,000 Voters! Less than 1% voted by mail.” He further emphasised that Indian voters are required to present valid identification at polling stations, in contrast to current US practices. Mr Trump also cited a question attributed to India’s Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, who reportedly asked how the US can conduct elections without requiring valid photo identification.
Amid increasing political polarization in the United States, the democratic and electoral processes have faced scrutiny from both major parties. Democratic leaders have recently criticised the Electoral College system, the structure of the Senate, and aspects of American republicanism, advocating for a more majoritarian democratic system. Conversely, Republican leaders have raised concerns about election integrity, including the potential for non-citizens to vote, the prevalence of mailin ballots, extended polling periods, and delayed timelines for election results.
Democracy is not an exclusively Western concept. Principles such as universal adult suffrage and freedom of expression were not always integral to democratic systems. Many democratic tenets now considered fundamental in Western societies have only been established within the past century. For example, women’s suffrage in the United States was granted in 1920 with the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Indian elections are frequently described as the “festival of democracy,” and several aspects of the process could serve as models for other nations. This is not surprising, as India possesses a deeply rooted democratic tradition. Although academic and popular histories often emphasize monarchical structures, India historically featured multiple layers of self-rule, resembling the cooperative self-government associated with Greek republicanism. Indian texts, such as the Veda and the Ashtadhyayi, contain terminology describing self-governing groups.
India is the world’s largest democracy, with over 900 million eligible voters, approximately three times the population of the United States. Voters cast their ballots using 1.7 million electronic voting machines (EVMs) at more than one million polling stations. The nation is divided into 543 parliamentary constituencies, with over 8,000 candidates contesting these seats. Election regulations require that a polling booth be located within two kilometres of every residence, ensuring that even a single resident, such as in Gir National Park in Gujarat, has access to voting facilities. The Election Commission of India (ECI), an independent constitutional authority, supervises the entire electoral process and deploys approximately 11 million poll workers.
Due to logistical considerations, including the movement of equipment, personnel, and the law-and-order apparatus, national elections in India are conducted in successive phases over eight to ten weeks. Within each phase, voting in designated areas occurs on a single day. Multi-day voting is not practised, and mail-in ballots are uncommon.
According to the Election Commission, India had 979.8 million registered electors in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Approximately 646.4 million votes were cast, resulting in a turnout of 66.1%. Of the 646,420,869 votes recorded, 4,281,594, or about 0.66%, were postal ballots, as noted by Trump in his Truth Social post. In India, mail-in ballots are restricted to specific categories, including service voters and certain absentee voters unable to appear at their assigned polling stations.
The Election Commission of India issues an Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) to eligible voters, which must be presented at the time of voting. Individuals without an EPIC may use any of twelve alternative photo identification documents approved by the Election Commission.
Only Indian citizens are permitted to vote. To register, an individual must be an Indian citizen, at least 18 years old on the qualifying date, and ordinarily resident in the relevant constituency. Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) are ineligible to vote.
In contrast, the United States Constitution grants individual states the authority to establish rules and conduct their elections. For example, California employs a “jungle primary” system, in which the top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. Some states use ranked-choice voting systems.
Mail-in voting is significantly more accessible in the United States, although eligibility and procedures differ by state. In most states, any registered voter may request a mail-in ballot. However, California sends ballots to all registered voters several weeks before the election, allowing them to return their ballots by election day.
Various entities, including unions, political parties, and campaign organizations, are permitted to collect and return mail-in ballots in bulk. This practice, known as “ballot harvesting,” has been criticized for its potential to facilitate corruption and irregularities.
Trump and many conservative leaders, particularly those aligned with the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, have expressed concerns regarding what they perceive as lenient voter registration regulations and the issuance, collection, and counting of mail-in ballots. The White House has advocated restricting mail-in voting primarily to individuals unable to vote in person due to illness, disability, military service, or travel.
An Executive Order by President Trump restricting the use of mail-in ballots is being litigated in court. However, at the time of writing for these pages, the Supreme Court of the United States removed the legal obstacle that had stopped President Trump from imposing those restrictions on mail-in voting ahead of the midterm elections in November.
A government-issued identification is not strictly required to register to vote in the United States. Individuals who do not provide identification during registration are expected to present one when voting for the first time in a federal election, although enforcement of this requirement is inconsistent. Some states accept a wide range of documents as identification, including gym membership cards, prescription labels, employer-issued ID, and sample ballots.
Recent reports have highlighted several irregularities in voter identification. Earlier this year, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill acknowledged that 6,600 noncitizens were added to the state’s voter rolls between June 2023 and June 2024. Of these, fewer than 400 voted, according to Governor Sherrill. Similarly, the state of Michigan admitted in an audit that 15 noncitizens cast ballots in November 2024. Federal prosecutors recently indicted a California woman for paying homeless individuals on Skid Row to register using her former address, resulting in ballots being sent there. She agreed to plead guilty.
While these irregularities do not constitute largescale voter fraud, they have fuelled advocacy for stricter regulations. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, formally designated as H.R. 22, is a federal bill that would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate, or REAL ID, before voter registration for federal elections. The bill would generally require in person registration, thereby eliminating most mail and online registration options.
The bill has passed the House of Representatives multiple times since 2024, most recently in February 2026, but faces significant challenges in the Senate, where 60 votes are required to overcome a filibuster. Mr Trump has advocated for the bill’s passage, which would take effect before the 2026 midterm elections. Supporters argue that the legislation closes a loophole that permits noncitizens to vote. In contrast, critics contend that the bill would require documentation that many Americans lack. They further argue that instances of noncitizen voting are extremely rare and that the legislation would impose significant burdens on eligible voters, particularly those without easy access to a passport or birth certificate. Regardless of federal action, several states, including Arizona, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming, have already implemented similar proof-of-citizenship requirements for the 2026 midterm elections.
Although Mr Trump’s post was mostly about his own domestic political fights, it provides an opportunity to analyse the nuances of the electoral process in the USA and India. For India and the Indian government, it provides authoritative external validation that makes sustained attacks on the system’s basic integrity harder to sustain in the public debate.
The post also inadvertently makes the case for something India’s history already knew: self-governance predates the ballot box the West likes to claim credit for.
*Author is a Chicago-based award-winning journalist.
