Shashi Tharoor welcomes Trump’s recognition of India’s voter ID system

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has welcomed United States President Donald Trump’s recent recognition of India’s voter ID system. Trump referenced India’s system in his latest executive order, which aims to reform the US federal election process. The order mandates proof of citizenship for federal elections and imposes new restrictions on mail-in voting, drawing comparisons with election systems in India and other nations.

Reacting to Trump’s remarks, Tharoor emphasized that India has maintained a robust voter verification system since 1952. “The interesting thing about America is that when you go to vote, you simply self-declare your citizenship. In India, we have a structured system with ID cards and voter lists to verify that the person voting is actually a citizen. This has been in place since 1952,” he said.

Tharoor also highlighted the international recognition of India’s electoral framework. “Certainly, there is a lot of respect for it worldwide. For the American President to acknowledge that India got this right while suggesting that his own country has not is something we should take pride in,” he added.

The order also draws attention to the tight restrictions on mail-in voting in countries like Denmark and Sweden, where postal ballots are accepted only under specific conditions, and those arriving late are dismissed irrespective of their postmark. In contrast, many US states have more flexible mail-in voting policies, with some even allowing ballots without postmarks or those received long after Election Day.