India, Brazil cited as examples in Trump’s executive order calling for proof of citizenship for voting in U.S. elections

President Trump's executive order calls for electoral reforms, including requiring documentary proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest executive order, issued on Tuesday (March 25, 2025), calls for sweeping electoral reforms in the United States, of which the most crucial one mandates documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. Mr. Trump’s order made note of India’s voter identification system, as it called for honest elections within the United States.

Stating that free, fair, and honest elections—unmarred by fraud, errors, or suspicion—are essential to the United States, the order noted that the country “lags behind other nations in enforcing basic and necessary election protections.”

Also read | Trump signs executive order on U.S. elections: What it entails, and will it actually stick?

It then went on to compare America’s voter practices against India, Brazil, and four other nations

India and Brazil, the Executive Order read, tie voter identification to a biometric database, while the United States largely relies on self-attestation for citizenship.

Other countries that were cited included, Germany and Canada (for their paper ballot systems), and Denmark and Sweden (for limiting mail-in voting)

Mr. Trump has long questioned the U.S. electoral system and continues to falsely claim that his 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud. The President and his Republican allies also have made baseless claims about widespread voting by non-citizens, which is illegal and rarely occurs.